Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Rest Ice Compression Elevation (RICE)

High school health class came in handy this week. A friend of mine got into what turned out (very luckily) to be a minor motorcycle accident. He rode home from the event without a scratch on the bike and barely a scratch on him. But his ankle was pretty swollen and through a series of phone calls and internet research sessions, we determined it was sprained. So he stayed off of it. We iced it until he couldn't stand it anymore. I learned how to wrap an ace bandage. And of course he kept it elevated.

Pretty good orthopedic nursing job if you ask me. We'll see if he runs that triathlon on Saturday though.

Pray with me.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Anorexia Bicicleta

I made a few more changes to the bike. New back wheel and hub. Ditched
old cassette (the cogs/gears in the back). Replaced tires with much
skinnier ones. Removed lock holster. Removed bracket for bike pump
(since I don't have one). Removed bell (might put it back on). New
single cog in back.

All in all: Bike lost 9 pounds and a whole lot of extraneous junk and
I can carry it down 7 flights of stairs in heels. It looks kind of
like it's anorexic.

Now I need pedals to clip into, shoes, and a water bottle cage.
That'll be next month.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Converted!

A friend of mine (B) met a new friend (G) who has an art studio which he lovingly refers to as his "getting dirty space." They were talking at a party and came to the conclusion that they would help me convert my bike. So yesterday, G called B and they made plans to meet. B and I arrived at the studio and 1 hour and a few country songs later, we were flying out of there on my new single speed setup. Removed a couple of chain rings in the front, ditched the shifters and derailleurs, and shortened the chain. We also chopped about an inch and a half off of my handlebars. Way better handling. G also polished my remaining chain ring and it's so pretty.

I still need to get new wheels/tires so that I can get rid of the back cogs and really lighten this baby up, but I can already feel the difference. I'm gonna be one zippy little thing especially after chugging along on 35 pounds of bicycle. But for now, I'm still a little heavy and on an odd gear ratio, so going up hills kinda sucks, but I still rode about 10 miles today -- more than 7 of them were with a friend who lives in Brooklyn now, but was my skating and biking buddy in middle school back in Indianapolis.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Sweet Dreams II

My little sister (age 9) recently had a dream that she went to heaven. So my mom asked, "What did God look like?" Without missing a beat, she replied "He had white pyjamas with red spots all over them, bunny slippers, and spiked hair."

Of course he did.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Not So Cute

Lately, my friend Laura (soycube) has been posting about interesting-looking bugs on her blog. She seems to find them endearing and cute. Well, I had a slightly different experience yesterday morning.

I had just arrived at the office and was taking a quick post-bike ride rinse in the shower, when I saw something moving in my peripheral vision. "Oh, no, you're just imagining it as usual" I thought. Then I looked again and on the wall of my shower was a 2+ inch long water bug (some might say cockroach).

So imagine: I'm completely nude, trapped in a small room with a huge bug, with no options but to take it on. So I did, but not without repeatedly screaming at the top of my lungs. My colleagues came running down the hall thinking that I was being attacked (I was). One thought I was singing, but he obviously has very little faith in my ability.

It was terrifying. I couldn't escape (because I had no clothes on), I couldn't get help (same reason), and I had to take on this battle in the nude (which is extra terrifying when you hate creepy crawlies like I do). I felt like I was Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises, only I was armed with a Puma (shoe) and not a knife. But I got the job done. It took me a few hours of cooling off to be able to go back in there and remove the carcass, however. But I did that too.