Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

This past week being Thanksgiving week, I decided to use a couple of my personal days and take the entire week to just hang around the apartment with Ado. The time away from campus has been absolutely wonderful. I wanted something colorful to cover up the old phone jack on the wall in the kitchen. Now, this makes me smile every  time I walk into the kitchen. I've always wanted to learn to play an instrument. I figured since Funny Delightful Son didn't want to take this to school with him, my opportunity to do so opened up. I now know how to play one song. So far, my week has been me learning three chords on the ukelele, beginning a painting of birds on a wire, painting over the birds because I decided I didn't like them and painting new birds that I now like, going to the dentist for some teeth work I've been putting off (and happy to find out my blood pressure is good -- 112/80 (though the 80 is borderline) -- which I credit to regular meditation), pu...

Lesson learned this evening: the bus that takes me from Uptown to home makes its last run at 8:25 pm. If you're not on that bus, you're walking home. Guess what. I had to walk home at 9:20 pm. It's only a mile and a half. And most of the sidewalk, other than the odd spot here and there, is lit well enough to feel comfortable walking at night. And I did feel comfortable. Right up until I was almost to my street and I heard a voice call from about a block behind. I wasn't quite sure what I had heard at first, so I looked over my shoulder and saw a car had turned onto a side street then stopped. Something else I couldn't understand was said. I kept walking since I was just across from Farmer Guy's place, who I talk to every now and then. The light was on in the front window, so I figured if I needed to I could knock on his door, which I'm sure would create quite the surprise for him. But it'd give me a place to duck into if I felt I needed to. Then the ...

Did you know snowflakes can hurt? I found this out yesterday on my way home from the transit station. I'd ridden my bike up in the morning to catch the bus, and during the afternoon a light snow fell when I returned to the transit station to get my bike and ride home. Almost as soon as I started out, a snowflake hit me in the eye. Not a pleasant feeling! All the way home I was blinking and keeping my head down to avoid having snowflakes maul my eyeballs. Being out, riding through the snow, was invigorating. I've actually been considering trying to ride twenty miles or more on a weekly basis all winter long no matter what kind of weather we're having. First, I have to find my booties, though. I really don't like having cold toes. You know what else hurts? Dreams. I had a dream last night during which something happened that created an intense emotional pain. One part of the dream I remember the most is me standing at a sink, washing coffee mugs and crying because of ...

Nearly 27 miles today. With intensely numb toes by the end. So numb I simply couldn't feel the floor after taking off my cycling shoes. My fingers? Just fine. My face? No problem. Even without my balaclava. I've searched the apartment for my neoprene booties, but so far no luck. So the toes are just going to have to go numb.  Towards the end of my ride. I didn't realize until after seeing this photo on the computer that I'm actually in it, too. My go-to for thawing out my toes was hot chocolate spiked with a little bit of Bailey's Irish Cream. I'll ride 27 miles in 35 degrees with a real feel of 29 any day if it means hot chocolate with Bailey's is waiting for me at the end. I thought about having a second but then I thought, "J, save that last bit of Bailey's for another day. You'll be glad you did." So I tucked the Bailey's back in the fridge, behind the milk and orange juice (not that anyone else will drink it, but just to be ...

Yesterday I drove Angel Baby's car to work. This morning I rode my bike to Uptown, went to Starbucks for my usual Thursday treat, then hopped on the bus to work. I have most definitely come to prefer the bus or my bike, and even though it would be much easier -- I'm not even sure easier is the right word; convenient?  --  to take Angel Baby to work then drive on over to campus, I'd much rather wait five minutes at the bus stop, feeling the cool November breeze touch my cheeks take a seat near the back of the bus look out the window, watch the last of red maple leaves skitter along the sidewalk relax, ten minutes of meditation or reading a chapter of the book I'm into, music whispering from earbuds. The idea of driving being easier, more convenient, and time-saving than riding my bike or taking the bus really isn't true in my case. Driving the Jeep is fun. No doubt. But I simply don't want the stress of driving. I want to be chauffeured around. ...

Despite Angel Baby saying he was good walking to work, which, granted, is just more than a mile from the apartment, I went ahead and bought him a car to drive when the weather gets colder. Walking when it's 35 degrees is one thing. Walking when it's 2 degrees with a wind chill of -7 degrees is quite another. I truly don't believe he realizes just how miserable that would be. So, I bought him a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. He claims I bought it for me since it's a manual, which he doesn't know how to operate. Angel Baby's new ride! If I'm being completely honest, I do have to admit I love this vehicle. It's in really good shape, and driving a stick is just plain fun. The Cherokee is very definitely my kind of car, so if Angel Baby says he doesn't want to drive it, I won't be hurt. I'll drive it and enjoy every single second of doing so. I have a hunch, though, that Angel Baby won't have any trouble learning how to drive a stick. He learne...