Ride days, not miles

I've been trying to log a few nano-miles on my bike whenever I find a chance. I thought to look at the total odometer reading on my (inconsistently used) computer. Looks like I've logged 1,341 miles since 2009. Is that right? I don't know.

In Grant Petersen's book Just Ride, he recommends this: "I think there are better things to count, such as minutes, elevation, or days. Minutes add up quickly, and if you ride slowly, you get more minutes per mile... When you count a day, you check it off whether you ride five minutes or five hours. I rode my bike today!"

This has become pretty important to me, and a good way to stay grounded. If I ride my bike on a day--to the park with the girls; to work; to the grocery or around the block to drop off mail--I am pretty pumped.

The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
Confucius Chinese philosopher & reformer (551 BC - 479 BC)

This quote (minus the "superior" part) reflects well the latest tone of this blog, where I'm writing less about stuff that doesn't really matter and focusing in on stuff that does, like our amazing and adorable baby. Hopefully though I'll find time to branch out and include more of our home and family. Meanwhile I'm figuring out work, trying to keep on the bike as much as possible, trying to keep our garden alive, and working toward expanding our good life.

I guess I've been struggling to prove that I'm actually helping to manage all the work involved with taking care of Ellie, despite the fact that I feel like I'm constantly going-going-going, be it trying to satisfy my boss at work, making sure I'm available around the house, or trying to help clean or whatever. I guess I get so scatter-brained that I'm not really doing anything very well, but doing a lot of things mediocre. And this is something that I've always done. But in the face of a baby and a wife who needs help raising a baby, it's unacceptable. I guess I'm on my way up a learning curve, but I just hate being compared to the "average father" whose statistics in the field of fatherhood are apparently pretty dismal.

Yesterday I got to fulfill some of my homesteading desires by hauling wood from the dead tree that was cut down in our front yard, courtesy of our City. What logs aren't used by my father in law for woodworking, we'll chop into firewood. Something I value, but, again, doesn't really stack up in the world of helping to take care of an infant.

Quote: Bike

A great quote from today's post on BSNYC:
"I may be naive, but I continue to believe that one day humanity will reach a point at which we will no longer need to feel special while we do something normal. Putting on pants will cease to be the subject of a feature article. The notion of a "bike culture" will dissolve like body paint in the rain. Riding a bicycle in street clothes will no longer be "cycle chic." Best of all, we will no longer need to be cultural aspirants or fashion models to ride to the store, and the simple act of buying something at that store will not need to be a statement about "sustainability." Instead, we will be regular schlubs doing regular crap, and we will be confident enough to do so without naming it and without baring our inner thigh sideburns in the process." - BikeSnob NYC (6/14/10)

Friday

Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can.
Danny Kaye US actor & singer (1913 - 1987)
--
No plans this weekend, so hopefully getting some good stuff done around the house, inside and out. Hopefully coffee, skateboarding,and Einstein Bros Bagels. If you live near one you gotta try the "Rachel": pastrami, swiss cheese, coleslaw, and thousand island dressing on rye bread = perfect sandwich.

Monday

Forever is composed of nows.
Emily Dickinson US poet (1830 - 1886)
--
Feeling better at the start of this week. Still blowing my nose and trying to keep my throat wet, but the weekend was nice enough that I even enjoyed some coffee and a couple beers. I rode my bike this morning and plan on keeping that up every day this week, despite the fact that it was super windy and much colder than I was hoping the world would be. I can't wait to enjoy the extended daylight that Daylight Saving Time will afford us.
--
Baby showers are done and we're moving full steam ahead toward labor and delivery. In the meantime, trying to get organized for Baby Girl...

Work Day + Music

As most of you surely know, today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For many Americans, this means a day off from work or school, and consequently time spent away from the computer monitor. However, for people who reside outside of the United States, or for people who reside in the United States and are employed by racists, it is unfortunately a Monday like any other... - BikeSnobNYC

yeah, I'm at work. good coffee, but not good enough to help get me through this Monday without being a little bored and a little stressed...

but then BSNYC goes on to say this:
This means that you may have commuted to work today, and you may even have used a bicycle to do so. One of the best things about bicycle commuting is that it can mitigate the displeasure of having to go to work. It's the rare and fortunate person who looks forward to his or her workday, so if you're not one of them you can at least sandwich the misery between two slices of pleasure by riding your bike there. Actually enjoying your commute can infuse an otherwise dreary day with some joy. 

True dat.

enjoy

The whole life of man is but a point of time;
let us enjoy it.

Plutarch Greek biographer & moralist (46 AD - 120 AD)

Quote: Bike/ city planning

In Copenhagen they make cycling easier for people through city planning, but here we prefer to make cycling easier by quite literally trying to take the effort out of cycling. However, it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that crappy streets are still crappy streets regardless of how much electrical assistance you have, and even someone who can't spell "nonplussed" surely realizes that getting hit by an SUV will suck... Bike Snob NYC

words to learn to live by

To get thine ends, lay bashfulness aside; Who fears to ask, doth teach to be deny'd.

Robert Herrick English lyric poet (1591 - 1674)

Love

Sent by my dad, to me and C both:

Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit. Bill Cosby

Quote: Come Alive

Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. - Howard Thurman

Quote, marriage

For me I am standing back at that stove and I want a do over. I want to live this marriage so Cole knows that I am hers and that nothing is as important. Making more money to buy more things, keeping a house, mowing a lawn, taking the garbage to the street, all of these domestic annoyances that people let ruin moods and marriages are on my list of things to not let win over this love. So fuck that spinach.

-Ryan, Pacing the Panic Room

quote/DIY

the do it yourself culture started way before the punks. people have always loved learning how to be better in touch with their surroundings by problem solving life’s inevitable breakdowns and becoming proactive in keeping their world functioning. it is great to learn how to fix a leak in your plumbing or not have to pay some stranger to do a simple oil change on a vehicle. learning to do it yourself aids in a lifestyle where one does not have (or want) a 40 hour work week. you can learn to get by on less by having to pay fewer people to do things you can easily do yourself. it is a great thing. when we learn how to fix things, our relationship between time and money shifts and our appreciation for the great, well functioning things in our lives grows.
from the chainbreaker bike book; a rough guide to bicycle maintenance by shelley lynn jackson and ethan clark
(stolen from Get Buck)

J.O.B.

"Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar."
- Drew Carey

In case you missed this quote from the comments section of my last, overly abrasive rant about jobs, well, here it is. I love it. It reminds me (as does C) that I shouldn't get so negative about it all--or at least, try to be a little more humorous about it. No one wants to read that, just like one doesn't want to be stuck next to the depressing drunk on a buzz-killing tangent on a late night...

Anyways...

Love that quote.
--
Addendum:
Not saying you should take some "b.s." but that it is important to let stuff roll off your back. Dust your shoulders off, suggests Jay-Z. If you like your line of work overall, don't let some prick ruin it for you. Keep on keepin' on. Weigh the pros and cons. If the pros win, just know at the end of a day or week, you get to complain about it to the people who love you--you might even score a beer or foot massage if you have the best story. Amanda, I owe you a beer.

Enjoy Life

I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it.
Rita Mae Brown

I hate being away from home because of work. Not only do I enjoy the good company of C and Alden, and the comfort of our house, but I also feel terrible when I'm away and am not able to help with the chores, forcing C to shoulder all responsibility. Monday I left town to go on two-day business trip, like I've done many times before. Sometimes, trips like these, or even long day-trips, really wear me out. The work can be rough, the conditions can be awful, and by the time I return to our doorstep I can be downright miserable. There have been many times when I walk through our door and expect C to run up to me, with all kinds of pity and sympathy and unconditional happiness to see me--as Alden does every time. But to expect that has been a selfish fault of mine--C's job is as physically and mentally taxing, and the job of taking care of Alden for an entire night and morning alone puts my efforts to shame. As much as I need it, C needs the same amount of excitement and enthusiasm and sympathy from me the second I see her. So yesterday, I made sure to go straight to her, with a huge smile on my face, and give her the biggest hug she could imagine. I thanked her for the great dinner she made and for taking good care of Alden and the house. I had even brought home Graeter's ice cream, knowing well that black raspberry chip ice cream is a great way to help swallow some of our daily frustrations. To come in the door with a smile and to give/get a big hug was much nicer than I had hoped.

Later in the evening C turned on some music and set off another one of our increasingly frequent dance parties. I'm not a big fan of participating in structured dance (e.g. ballroom style), but really can't deny C my cooperation. And fortunately I did start dancing with her because things got silly and, after getting kicked really hard in the head, we both enjoyed really good, uncontrollable, boisterous laughter. I love laughing with C. In fact, I would say that C laughing is my favorite thing in the world. It goes well beyond being satisfied, beyond being simply happy. Laughing so fully is the best indication that you are really enjoying life--the only reason to be alive.

So, I guess my lesson here is to get better about not wallowing in defeat, not expecting sympathy or pity, and to rise up with a smile on my face and give the love and appreciation I hope to receive. It's well worth the little bit of effort. If you want to enjoy life, you better expect to put some work into it and to stay positive.

+PMA+
Positive Mental Attitude

Love Life

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.
Benjamin Franklin, 'Poor Richard's Almanack,' June 1746

This weekend I was fortunate to be a part of the beautiful wedding ceremony and celebration of Michael and Jessica MacMaster: two people I love very much for all they are and all they do. I'm not going to try to rival C's speech/toast from the reception, so I'll keep my discussion short... for now. I do want to admit that watching Jess walk down the aisle had me tearing up and it was all I could do, including turning around to look at the bridge behind us, to hold myself together. I think my emotions were the result of a combination of being ecstatic for Jess and Mike, remembering the feelings from my recent wedding (which included so many of the same people), and the selfish happiness I was feeling for being part of such an awesome family that now includes Mike.

Life is flying and we need to keep up with it. It's easy to forget that time is precious and I'm glad that the past four days were spent with family and good friends from out-of-town and across the country. This morning, Mom and Dad Love were the last of those out-of-towners to leave and I was sad. There's nothing better than being around people you love and enjoying their company. Everyone put in a lot of effort to make this weekend great. I want to give a special mention of the selfless efforts of my beautiful and generous wife, C, that I was able to witness, first hand, over the past several months. I can't begin to list all that she did, but would care to say that I am constantly impressed and always proud and hope that soon I might develop her intuition and absorb even only a fraction of her generosity.

Mike and Jess, I wish you a long life of happiness together and hope that the four of us are never far apart (literally!) for long.
See? That was selfish.

Enjoy it before it's passed.