The rain is beating down outside of my window. The phrase "raining cats and dogs" doesn't even come close to the monsoon type waterfall cascading down the ledge of my apartment. Luckily I am warm and dry as I lie in my bed watching the storm.
Suddenly out of the blue I hear a beep, beep, beep. It reminds me of the warning signal that comes across the television when an emergency message is being broadcast. Startled I look around confused because I have no tv in my room and I know my computer isn't making that noise. Riffling through papers I discover my phone is what is making that noise. I never knew that I could receive a warning broadcast over my phone. It makes sense that this is possible and is a good way to inform people of danger, but it still surprises me that I can get a flash flood warning over my phone.
If you are in this storm or any storm stay safe!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Fruit Stands
One of my favorite things about this time of year would be the road side fruit stand. All along the roads that I take small farms have erected makeshift and permanent pavilions in order to sell the wonderful fruits and vegetables that they have so lovingly grown. Each succulent bite from one of these freshly grown delicacies makes the taste buds on your tongue dance in ecstasy. I will need to hurry as not miss out on my chance this year to experience all that these fruit stands have to offer.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
The Ill Conceived Idea Part 2
I was told in no uncertain terms that I needed to finish the story that I started a couple days ago. Sorry, sorry, sorry it took me so long. Don't worry my "adoring fans" I am back and am here to finish that which I started. Please forgive me for leaving you hanging for soooo long (I would put an emoticon here of a smile with a tongue sticking out, but I didn't want to go through the effort so therefore I spent more effort writing out the fact that I didn't want to take the effort to put an emoticon here).
Now back to the story. If I remember correctly I had finally made it to the bike path to continue my arduous journey across 3 cities to my brothers house. It was smooth sailing from here (well sort of). The path was actually very nice. There weren't many hills and since it is fairly new it doesn't have any rough parts. Just flat cement laid out for miles ahead to be ridden or walked on. I guess you could do a number of other activities like running or rollerblading or even skateboarding, but since I don't participate in any of those (mostly for my own safety) I tend to focus on those riding their bikes or walking along looking at the scenery which was quite resplendent when I would look up from staring at my handle bars.
Mile after mile the cement just continued on ahead of me. How much further was it? I swear it didn't look this long on the map? At least I'm keeping up with those 2 bikers that look like they do this a lot. That's a bonus. I'm not lagging behind or peddling so slowly that I might as well be walking. Boy is my backside starting to hurt. I never noticed how painful my small skinny bike seat could be. These were just a few of the thoughts that ran across my brain as my legs just kept moving up and down, up and down.
As I peddled along I started to realize that I was getting close enough to my desired destination that I would need to leave the path sooner rather than later in order to not pass up the road I had to take to make it to my brothers house. I didn't want to go further north than was necessary, that would have just been dumb.
Instead of going too far north I timed my exit of the bike path just a couple roads too early. As such I ended up barreling down a very steep hill and realized that I really should have planned my exit better. It was not a good idea to be going so quickly down a steep hill while not wearing a helmet (no, I did not have a helmet...dumb, I know). All I could do was pray that I wouldn't hit a bump that would make me fly over my handlebars and hold on for dear life. I made it to the bottom.
Once I was solidly on a flat road again I came to the knowledge that I still had at least 2 miles to go if not more. I put my head down and watched the light on the front of my bike brighten up the way in front of me. Did I mention that it was now getting fairly dark (another reason that I am no good at judging time)? I continued to pump my legs in order to keep going. I then reached the point in my trek that I just couldn't make myself go any further. Yes, I only had probably a little over a mile left to go but it seemed to daunting. I had to call my brother to rescue me, which he was wonderful and did. It was so good to sit in a nice soft truck and be driven the rest of the way.
The final facts to my tale include the points that I was crazy sore the next day, I had the weighting notion over my head that I would most likely need to ride my bike back home at some point, and I still had at least a partial day of working in a hot warehouse to get through. Good thing I made it through the work day, I muscled through the pain, and my brother was kind enough to drive me home.
I told a friend that I was no longer allowed to attempt such an en devour unless I had worked up to it first. And thus ends this adventure.
Now back to the story. If I remember correctly I had finally made it to the bike path to continue my arduous journey across 3 cities to my brothers house. It was smooth sailing from here (well sort of). The path was actually very nice. There weren't many hills and since it is fairly new it doesn't have any rough parts. Just flat cement laid out for miles ahead to be ridden or walked on. I guess you could do a number of other activities like running or rollerblading or even skateboarding, but since I don't participate in any of those (mostly for my own safety) I tend to focus on those riding their bikes or walking along looking at the scenery which was quite resplendent when I would look up from staring at my handle bars.
Mile after mile the cement just continued on ahead of me. How much further was it? I swear it didn't look this long on the map? At least I'm keeping up with those 2 bikers that look like they do this a lot. That's a bonus. I'm not lagging behind or peddling so slowly that I might as well be walking. Boy is my backside starting to hurt. I never noticed how painful my small skinny bike seat could be. These were just a few of the thoughts that ran across my brain as my legs just kept moving up and down, up and down.
As I peddled along I started to realize that I was getting close enough to my desired destination that I would need to leave the path sooner rather than later in order to not pass up the road I had to take to make it to my brothers house. I didn't want to go further north than was necessary, that would have just been dumb.
Instead of going too far north I timed my exit of the bike path just a couple roads too early. As such I ended up barreling down a very steep hill and realized that I really should have planned my exit better. It was not a good idea to be going so quickly down a steep hill while not wearing a helmet (no, I did not have a helmet...dumb, I know). All I could do was pray that I wouldn't hit a bump that would make me fly over my handlebars and hold on for dear life. I made it to the bottom.
Once I was solidly on a flat road again I came to the knowledge that I still had at least 2 miles to go if not more. I put my head down and watched the light on the front of my bike brighten up the way in front of me. Did I mention that it was now getting fairly dark (another reason that I am no good at judging time)? I continued to pump my legs in order to keep going. I then reached the point in my trek that I just couldn't make myself go any further. Yes, I only had probably a little over a mile left to go but it seemed to daunting. I had to call my brother to rescue me, which he was wonderful and did. It was so good to sit in a nice soft truck and be driven the rest of the way.
The final facts to my tale include the points that I was crazy sore the next day, I had the weighting notion over my head that I would most likely need to ride my bike back home at some point, and I still had at least a partial day of working in a hot warehouse to get through. Good thing I made it through the work day, I muscled through the pain, and my brother was kind enough to drive me home.
I told a friend that I was no longer allowed to attempt such an en devour unless I had worked up to it first. And thus ends this adventure.
Friday, August 16, 2013
The Ill Conceived Idea Part 1
I have a part of my personality that at some times can be construed as a character flaw while at other times I feel is a huge benefit to have. If I decide to do something I do it. I don't take a long time debating the pros and cons of the situation. Most of the time this is a good thing in my opinion and it has allowed me to experience some wonderful things, but at other times I look back and think...I should have probably thought about that some more before deciding to jump in head first with a running start. This portion of my personality can every once cause me not to make the best choices.
The most recent idea that I decided to go full steam ahead with was definitely not the best choice on my side. Yesterday after sitting in my apartment for a couple of hours once work had ended the thought occurred to myself that I could ride my bike over to my brothers house and spend the night. I would need to be near his house the next day since I work at my previous place of employment every other Friday, and that previous place of employment resides very near his current place of residency. The flaw to this reasoning....my brother lives 3 cities away. Yes, count them, 3! I should also mention that since it has been EXTREMELY hot lately with it being summer I have not ridden my bike as much as I would have liked. I am very out of practice and very low on bike riding endurance, but I was not to be deterred by any of this.
I made the conscious choice to get my bike off of my balcony, make a quick detour at my uncles house to pump up my tires (the heat had caused them to deflate), and find the new bike path that had been constructed "near" my apartment that goes through the cities that would get me to my brothers house. On I went.
The first hiccuped happened not far from my uncles house. I was peddling along and tried to change gears (my bike doesn't like its gears to be changed, it tends to cause the chain to catch) and my bike made a terrible crunching noise signifying the fact that my chain had just become lodged deep into my gears. I of course had to stop, flip my bike over, and try as I might to yank the chain out of its mangled caught state. I spent a good 10 minute pulling and yanking on the chain until an old man decided to pull over on the side of the rode and help me. He walked over, flipped one lever on my bike, twisted the chain, and pulled it straight out. I was thoroughly schooled. Never again will I allow my bike chain to get the better of me because of what I learned from that old man (at least I hope I wont let it get the better of me again). I was once again on my way.
The second hiccup took place as I peddled up the hill towards the elusive bike path. I have learned that I am no judge of distance or time. Looking at the map to the bike path earlier on my computer the bike path really didn't look that far from my apartment. Boy, was I wrong. The farther I peddled the farther I realized I had to go. I thought that I could probably make it to my brothers house in a good 30 to 40 minutes. Nope, it took me a good 30 to 40 minutes just to get to the bike path. Finally I make it to the path and continued on my way.
To be continued......
The most recent idea that I decided to go full steam ahead with was definitely not the best choice on my side. Yesterday after sitting in my apartment for a couple of hours once work had ended the thought occurred to myself that I could ride my bike over to my brothers house and spend the night. I would need to be near his house the next day since I work at my previous place of employment every other Friday, and that previous place of employment resides very near his current place of residency. The flaw to this reasoning....my brother lives 3 cities away. Yes, count them, 3! I should also mention that since it has been EXTREMELY hot lately with it being summer I have not ridden my bike as much as I would have liked. I am very out of practice and very low on bike riding endurance, but I was not to be deterred by any of this.
I made the conscious choice to get my bike off of my balcony, make a quick detour at my uncles house to pump up my tires (the heat had caused them to deflate), and find the new bike path that had been constructed "near" my apartment that goes through the cities that would get me to my brothers house. On I went.
The first hiccuped happened not far from my uncles house. I was peddling along and tried to change gears (my bike doesn't like its gears to be changed, it tends to cause the chain to catch) and my bike made a terrible crunching noise signifying the fact that my chain had just become lodged deep into my gears. I of course had to stop, flip my bike over, and try as I might to yank the chain out of its mangled caught state. I spent a good 10 minute pulling and yanking on the chain until an old man decided to pull over on the side of the rode and help me. He walked over, flipped one lever on my bike, twisted the chain, and pulled it straight out. I was thoroughly schooled. Never again will I allow my bike chain to get the better of me because of what I learned from that old man (at least I hope I wont let it get the better of me again). I was once again on my way.
The second hiccup took place as I peddled up the hill towards the elusive bike path. I have learned that I am no judge of distance or time. Looking at the map to the bike path earlier on my computer the bike path really didn't look that far from my apartment. Boy, was I wrong. The farther I peddled the farther I realized I had to go. I thought that I could probably make it to my brothers house in a good 30 to 40 minutes. Nope, it took me a good 30 to 40 minutes just to get to the bike path. Finally I make it to the path and continued on my way.
To be continued......
Thursday, August 15, 2013
What Was He Thinking?
I attended a coworkers wedding reception and the way that he introduced me to his new wife was that I was the one that kept him sane at work. Really??? Most of the time I am moments away from insanity at work. How in the world could an insane person help someone else be sane?
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Blood Red Sun
As I was driving this evening I glanced up at the sun and was amazed at what I saw. The sun peaked through the gathering clouds in a red glow that reached out to all around it. It was beautiful. The epitome of a blood red sun. As I glanced at it every now and then (because since I was driving I couldn't continually watch it) I traced its slow decent behind the west mountains. The lower it sank the brighter the sun shown forth its red reaching rays. When it finally dipped behind the peaks it looked as if the mountains were on fire.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Queen Of The Pool
Have you ever had a swimming pool completely and blissfully to yourself? I'm not talking about the small blow up kind that you can fit in your front or back yard, but the full scale (5 foot deep) cement legitimate kind. Well I'll let you in on a secret....it is heaven. No one else's ripples diverging on yours. No need to dodge or pay close attention to the people slowing creeping in on your water space. All the water and room in the pool are yours. I will say it once again, HEAVEN.
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