So we’re doing this now…

After Juan’s bike seat was stolen, we had to make a trip to Bike & Hike in Corvallis to replace the seat post. While there, I fell in love with a snazzy red bike like this one –

I resisted the urge to buy it right then and there because it would never fit into my car and do I really need a bike? It’s been years since I rode to work and even more years since I’d bought a brand new bike. I couldn’t justify the expense and besides, it was pouring down rain.

Of course we bought the wrong size seat post and had to go back again the next day. The bike was even more snazzy on second look but again I talked myself out of taking her home.

Saturday dawned clear and sunny and I found Awana at the Studio with no plans for the day. I showed her a phone pic of the bike (already named Scarlet in my head) and described what I would do with her. Being a Prime Enabler (and a former cyclist,) she offered to take her van over and pick up the bike with me. I was powerless to resist 🙂

She rides like a dream. I’d forgotten how much I love to ride (Captain Bligh ruined commuting for me) and since I live so close to the office, there’s really no need for me to drive at all in this flat town.

But. Sabu would have to learn to run beside the bike to make commuting pay off – she pines and pouts when left home with Juan as she takes her job as Office Dog very seriously. After some internet research, I decided to give the Walky Dog a try –

Seems simple enough, right? Sabu really wants to run beside a bike, but she’s an unpredictable bitch and I knew if I tried to take her with a regular leash we’d be in a world of trouble at first site of a cat, dog, squirrel, diesel truck or another bike.

The website promises your dog will willingly adapt to the Walky Dog in about five minutes and you’ll be off and running, wearing out the dog (a tired dog is a good dog!) and having a grand time. I bought the EzyDog harness so if she wanted to pull she wouldn’t rub all her fur off.

Sabu is a bit hard headed, so I prepared myself for a series of long training sessions and hoped we’d be able to ride to work in a couple of weeks.

Once again that damned dog surprised me, but in a good way this time! I walked her beside the bike for a minute or two and she was soon lunging forward, making her little “I’m so excited, let’s just GO for fuck’s sake” howling noise so I hopped on the bike and off we went.

All doubts were soon left behind as she ran beside the bike, pulling for all she was worth, trying to go faster, faster, faster! I rode the brakes to keep us from ending up in the next county and had a grand time steering against her until she stopped trying to get up on the sidewalk.

What a blast! We rode into work on Monday, Sabu running all out towing the whole way. Got a few strange looks, but both our smiles were well worth it! She towed me home, too, her enthusiasm still at a high. She seemed ready to go forever, but she’s an Old Lady Dog and I didn’t push her limits. Top speed (you know I had to get a computer to keep track of such things, right? A Good Life is all about the accessories 🙂 ) on Monday was 11.7 mph.

Tuesday she was slower but still very keen to get going. Top speed was just under 10 mph towing all the way. The ride home was slower and I could tell she was working harder. Ah ha! This really does work to wear out a dog!

Today she was clearly feeling the burn, not towing much at all, very willing to slow down to a trot. Top speed about 7 mph.

A wonderful side effect to this little exercise is that she’s paying closer attention to me and pretending to be a Good Dog most of the time. She’s napping at the office, too, not jumping up at every sound that doesn’t belong.

Found a used car bike rack on Craigslist, so I guess we’ll be taking this act on the road, too. Have I lost my mind?

 

Not music

Awana and I have discussed the Man Bun phenom, so this video is for her 🙂

This guy is hysterical!

 

More Thievery

I have had it with this crappy tweaker town! Came home from work Monday, knackered after the stupid time change, and noticed that Juan’s* bicycle had no seat.

“Huh,” I thought, “that’s pretty clever, him taking the seat inside so it doesn’t get wet…”

The awning has been in these last few months and his bike has been getting soaked but he refused to bring it inside, saying that it would take up too much room. It was chained (with a bright orange logging chain, so the tweakers wouldn’t come right up to the trailer to check) and locked, so the bike itself was pretty safe, just exposed to the weather. I’m a fan of Taking Care of My Shit, so I didn’t like it, but whatever – I didn’t buy it, I don’t own it, therefore it’s not something I need to worry about.

I asked him if he’d taken the seat inside. Nope. He had no idea what I was talking about. A quick trip outside (it was pouring down rain) and he confirmed that the seat had, indeed, been stolen, post and all. The handlebar grips, too.

What the Fuck are people thinking? Where the fuck was the dog that she didn’t bark her head off at the approach of a stranger? Did they kidnap the cat, too – he’s gone AWOL.

So, fine. Last night after work we went in search of a new seat, post and grips. Turns out no place in this hell hole of a town sells bicycle seat posts. Oh, sure, we could have gone to the “used market” with all the bikes parked out front, where we probably would have found his actual seat, but if we had, well, I’d be writing this from jail, and y’all know how terrible I’d look dressed in wide black stripes.

The theft was bad enough, but now I have to make a special trip into Albany (or Corvallis if the Albany bike shop is closed after work today) to get a new seat post so Juan can ride his bike to an interview if he ever gets one oh, my god! I am so done with this Mom Gig I could just scream but I won’t because I’ve been beating (metaphorically) on New Guy all day and I think he might wet himself if I screamed and where was I going with this?

I really don’t need another thing to piss me off right now, but there ya go – the Universe teaching me that People Suck. As if I hadn’t already had my quota of Life Lessons.

*Juan is not his actual name, but I’ve taken to calling him Juan the Houseboy to try to shame him into getting his ass moving towards the door. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be having the intended effect but I’m stubborn and will continue until I get bored or he gets out or I think up something more humiliating. Suggestions welcome 🙂

 

Music on Friday

Happy Friday! This week has been about twelve days too long. Time to explore the idea of tunes on Friday again.

When I worked in Portland, this song would play on the radio every Friday morning just before 0800 on my drive in to the office and became a Friday Anthem of sorts –

It still makes me smile and remember those days…

 

International Women’s Day?

Oh, whatever! It’s not like any of us get the day off, so why bother? Between the absurd election coverage (did Trump really tell the world he has a big dick?) celebrity gossip, every day being some sort of “international” holiday and endless “would you live here with no internet access for a month if you got $100,000 at the end?”-type memes, I’m about ready to unplug completely before I lose my mind. Where is the actual substance on this here interwebz? I’m not talking about my usual blogging buddies and the new ones I’ve found recently, but Everything Else. Sigh.

The Spring Fever is especially virulent this year and I’m wound up and ready to slay dragons.

A friend is going through hell with her narc husband. She made plans to leave with her three children but he found out and she was sucked back in. I’ve been staying out of it because I see Captain Bligh in her husband and know I can’t be objective with my advice. I feel her pain but it’s not my battle to fight. She dropped by the Art Guild Shop while I was working my shift the other day and I told her to give me a call when she’s ready and I’ll come on over with a flame thrower and burn her bridges so she can never go back. I might have gotten a bit ranty, blowing her defensive arguments about why she “has” to stay all to pieces. I can’t help myself. I’ve seen behind his mask and I want to destroy him. Sadly, I know how it will end, and I told her so. She didn’t believe me. We’ll see who’s proven right.

Anyway. Just gonna put this here –

Don’t ever count on me keeping my mouth shut or doing what’s “expected” of me. Those days are over forever.

 

The Mirror – Let’s face it

This. So very much this. This re-blog marks 500 posts here. Who woulda thought I had so much to say? Shut up, Mom 🙂

Red Light Runners

It’s no longer just weeks or months that this unsavoury alliance with The Wonderful You and Mr Incredible has been going on. It is now entering into years.

Living on the edge has been exciting and challenging for a little while, now it’s become a daily reality. Staying one step ahead of the game, playing detective, proving yourself, watching your own back (and front), being lied about, being lied to, being falsely accused, overlooking wrongs yet being blamed for everything, working really hard to please yet getting nowhere and never quite knowing where you stand in this game takes way more effort and energy than you originally calculated.
And the reason you miscalculated in the first place is because you had no living idea that you would ever actually be doing all these things to survive. You’re not even aware that you are doing them, you are too focused on…

View original post 1,858 more words

 

Time to breathe

The Big Work Project is put to bed for now and I couldn’t be happier. It’s been a tough slog for the last two+ weeks; half a million balls to keep in the air; The Boss getting wound tighter and tighter as information failed to come in on time. I am knackered. My hands ache and my upper back feels like it’s locked permanently into a hunch of pain.

Here’s the thing: my job is my SuperPower. I never blow a deadline. I do what has to be done to get the job delivered on time. No matter what. This project proved to be more difficult than most, mainly because of the large number of consultants and the fact they’re scattered across the country. I knew where things were going to go sideways and I told The Boss to expect it. He laughed and told me I couldn’t be right. I laughed and told him to wait and see. I was right. He’s not laughing now and I earned myself a nice fat bonus on top of the OT pay.

Next week marks my 26th anniversary on this particular career path. I’m seriously considering looking at another line of work.

Space rent at the RV park is going up in June. It’s the fifth increase in the past year and now we’re talking enough money that it matters. 33% increase in under two years and I’m not at all happy with Management, as I think I’ve said before. This is not a $400 park. A $400 park has MANY amenities and perks and this park has nothing at all going for it except that my particular space is large and I don’t have close neighbors. I’d be willing to sacrifice that for less rent, a shower room and washing machines that didn’t constantly break down.

The more I look around this tired little town, the more I become convinced that it’s time to make a bold move.

I’ve been marking time for the last three years, getting my life in order, shaking off the narc, sobering up my son, and now it’s time to do something a little bit crazy.