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#5334 – it's a chopper, baby

i finally bought myself a new bicycle!

New Bicycle!

i was finally able to use my groupon deal for local bicycle shop bicycleSPACE today. back in july i stopped in to see about maybe getting my hand-me-down bike fixed up, and the day after i stopped in they had a groupon deal where you could either pay $40 and get $80 towards bike maintenance, or pay $80 and get $200 towards a new bicycle. i did the math and for about $50 more out of pocket than a full tune-up i’d be able to get a whole new bike with some features i wanted included. each time i wanted to stop in and use it, though, something always came up – either i didn’t have the money, or i wasn’t able to stop in, etc.

the other day i saw that they were going to be doing a morning yoga class this morning that was open to all, whether you were a beginner or were advanced. the bonus was that all attendees would get a coupon for 15% off merchandise, or 10% off a new bike. so, i woke up early and headed there to contort myself for discounts, haha.

i woke up around 7:40, showered and had breakfast. i had signed up for uber when i found out they were starting in dc, and i was able to add a promo code to my account for $15 off my first uber ride, so i figured i’d use that to go to the bicycle shop this morning because why would i want to ride my own bike there if i was going to be riding a different bike back home? unfortunately, when i checked to see about having the car pick me up i found out that the closest car was about 25 minutes away, and that’s about how much time i had until the yoga class started, so i just started walking. i ended up walking to the closest capital bikeshare station, paid $7 to rent a bike for 24 hours, and biked the next 3 miles or so to bicycleSPACE.

i got there late (not only did i leave the house later than i expected and didn’t get to the bikeshare station until about 8:50, but i had to keep detouring around construction as i neared the shop) and they were already in the middle of the yoga class. not only was i a beginner, i was the beginner. me, three ladies, and the instructor. i grabbed one of the mats they had and after watching for a few minutes i joined in and i think i did pretty well for monkey-see-monkey-doing my way through the class. i talked with the instructor afterwards about how i heard that yoga would help with core strength and she gave me some tips and recommended a dvd (it’s titled yoga for weight loss, but she said “it’s not really about the weight loss, it just gives a great introduction to all the poses and alignments, so it’s a great video to watch if you’re just starting”).

they do the yoga classes during the week on monday nights at the bike shop, and all of their yoga classes are donation-based with the money going to local bike advocacy groups. i had been meaning to stop in to give it a try earlier, but i never did. they were trying yoga classes on saturday mornings this month to see how popular they might be. they do other classes there as well: there’s a flat-tire repair and maintenance class on tuesday and thursday nights, social rides usually on thursday nights (though that might have just been in the spring and summer, i’m not sure), and rides organized on the weekend to explore the city.

i shopped afterwards and picked out my bike – i had done my homework to see what brands and models they carried, and since i wasn’t looking for anything fancy but wanted something with fenders and a carrier it looked like the jamis commuter 1 would suit me perfectly. there’s a cul-de-sac just down the street from the shop where you can take the bike on a test ride, so i rode it around for a little while and it felt so much nicer than my existing bike. rode it back to the shop and they had the mechanics give it a once-over to make sure it’s in good shape while i checked out the accessories. i didn’t see anything that i wanted i could afford right now. i’d like to get better lights for my bike rather than these tchotchke front and rear lights i got at the capital bikeshare birthday party a few months ago – they’re just good enough to let people know there’s someone out biking in the darkness, but they don’t do much to light up the path in front of me. unfortunately, the light i liked was $60, but wow, was it bright!

i didn’t get the 10% discount off the bike (the coupon they gave us said 5% off, but i didn’t even get that discount… maybe it couldn’t be combined with the groupon, i don’t know), but i don’t really mind considering i was getting an incredible deal anyway – normally the bike was $400, and with my groupon it was only $200. so, 50% off! even if you add in the cost of my groupon it’s still 30% off the price. maintenance is included for the first year, too.

now to figure out how to make a few modifications to my bike: i’d like to add my water bottle carrier and figure out the best way to carry my lock and how to secure my saddle so nobody steals it. it doesn’t even have a kickstand!

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#5333 – we're in the money

last night i had a bizarre 3-part dream:

part 1: stueypark and i coached a kids hockey team, but only so we could beat up the kids in hockey fights.

part 2: i was trying to control people parachuting on an aircraft carrier like it was some video game.

part 3: i rode in the ocean on a giant inflatable rabbit, as if it were a bucking bronco in a rodeo, sandwiched between janet wood and chrissy snow from “three’s company”, all the while accompanied by the tune for the song “we’re in the money”. the two other people didn’t look like joyce dewitt or suzanne somers, but to me they were hotter than that, and somehow i just knew that the brunette and the blonde were supposed to be these two characters from that tv sitcom.

i think this third dream beat out the first two ones. accordingly, i’ve had “we’re in the money” stuck in my head all day today.

one of my fraternity brothers sent out a call for help on our chapter’s email list, he’s looking for someone to work with him as a project manager at his office. i gave him my details and my resume, and though i’m light on project management experience he’s going to pass it along anyway. i doubt i’ll get it, but he offered to talk with me sometime about possible job opportunities in his department. the good thing too is that his office is only about 3.5 miles away from my apartment, so hello easy commute! i’ve applied to a few other local jobs recently too, but who knows if i’ll hear anything more about them.

i’m drinking this beer i made a few weeks ago for thanksgiving. it’s a west-coast style pale ale made with leftover honey from feisty_fitz‘s wedding, and it is GOOD. it’s got a clean finish and you can just chug it, haha. i just have to remember to set a bottle of it aside to kelly and jamie get a chance to try some next time they come this way and so i don’t end up drinking it all.

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#5332 – …

i’m disappointed that i won’t be able to go to the memorial service for stueypark‘s dad tomorrow… well, today. i’m trying to figure out if it’d be feasible for me to get out of the office early, but with the work i have to do i don’t think it’ll be possible. 🙁

i wish i could say more, but lately it just hasn’t felt right for me to do so.

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#5331 – attention deficit and disorder

i keep meaning to write in here, but by the time i get home and have dinner and watch some tv and take care of stuff around the apartment, i don’t feel like sitting down at my desktop computer to type. i don’t feel like sorting through my email at my desktop computer, either. i can’t wait until when i can buy a new laptop since i’m much more comfortable just sprawled out on the couch when i take care of stuff like that. i don’t know, sitting at my desk just seems so formal.

after sitting at my desk at work for 8 hours each day, sitting at my desk at home is pretty much the last thing that i want to do. ever since my macbook air’s monitor cable started fraying and the hinge started breaking and the screen went all psychedelic i’ve been using my ipad as my laptop instead. it works well for 90% of the things i want to do, but that last 10% is a pain in the butt. it’s good for reading email, but i hate replying / organizing email on there. it’s good for reading my rss feeds and catching up on the news and so on, but i prefer my mac’s lj client for composing journal posts. i have a bluetooth keyboard, but i can’t stand the way it wants to auto-correct some things i type.

things are going well. er, most things are going well, i suppose. i still can’t stand my job. it’s not that it’s hard or anything, i just feel like it’s such a waste. i’m bored and frustrated and i want something that will pay me more. based on lovethiscaryn‘s recommendation i bought “what color is your parachute?” since i have no idea how and where to begin to find a new job. i don’t know how some people seem to find new jobs and transition every year or two – it’s very intimidating to me, and i keep looking for jobs doing things that i think i’d enjoy at companies i think i’d enjoy working for, but either i find something and apply and i never hear back or i see something and i talk myself out of applying for some reason or another. example: i found a position at a local startup that kind of fits in with what i’m currently doing, but it mentions having a statistics background and data visualization background, and since i never really did anything with either of those i don’t even bother applying even though perhaps i should.

i’m still in a holding pattern with deltoidzee‘s company i interviewed with several months ago, and they’re waiting for the government to approve a budget before they can proceed. that’ll be nice and all, but if i do end up working for them then i’ll be working around where i work right now, or even perhaps further north, and i’d really (really really) like to find a job actually in DC. i’m tired of commuting in traffic every day, and i’d like to stay local and be more environmentally friendly in my transportation choices – most of what i did at work today was sit at my desk and study google maps and google streetview to see how i can get from point a to point b via bike trails and lanes.

thanksgiving weekend was nice. i got some reading done, finished a book that i bought back when i visited portland in january. anne was going to a they might be giants concert in dc on saturday night and needed me to take her there to meet up with her friends, and so i escorted her to the venue, waited around until the line went in, then went to hang out a few blocks away at busboys & poets so i could have some dinner and finish my book. i’ve got three other books i’m in the middle of right now, and i could really use another long weekend just to catch up on reading and stuff like that. that’s another thing, by the time i get home i’m all worn out from work and applying for jobs is another last thing i want to do.

speaking of time off, that just reminded me – i got a summons for jury duty a few weeks ago… but back for my old county in maryland. i submitted a form saying how i no longer live in the county but i never heard anything back, and my paperwork says that i’d have to report starting tomorrow. just checked online and my juror number is among those not needed at this time. so, how about that – i live in anne arundel county for years and never get called for jury duty. i move to dc and the county picks me. figures.

i also found when i went home for thanksgiving weekend a notice that the MVA in maryland has sent my account to central collections and i’m expected to pay $519.48 for letting my car insurance lapse. huh? i sent them a letter explaining how i never let it lapse and included copies of my insurance id cards to show that the same insurance policy number has been in effect since december 1, 2010 even if i changed my address to a dc address in july in order to register my car in dc. we’ll see how that goes.

caryn got the job in dc she was hoping for, good for her! i’m still not sure what might happen with us, if anything. we haven’t done any videochatting over the past few weeks, and we’ve texted only a little. it’s (probably) not personal since she’s been stressed out and busy with her GREs and getting ready to start her new job and find a new place to live, etc., but my emotional needs are such that i’d need any relationship i’m in to be more than just an occasional get-together. i’m looking for somebody who’s as interested in making an effort to see me as i would to see them; when it ends up being me doing most or all of the initiating, i get a vibe that i’m just being humored, and i end up feeling insecure. what can i say? i’m an attention whore. 😛

who knows, things might pick up once she’s more entrenched in the dc area, but i don’t know. i think (ok, festive pointed it out and other friends confirmed, and i agree) that i’m too much of a “cat lady”, as michelle described me. i’m not very fond of dogs. i’m trying, though! at least her dogs are small, since i can’t stand larger dogs, but i also can’t see myself ever having a dog. my personality is just more suited to cats and cat-owners, i guess. i should probably find a new job before i find a new ladyfriend anyway.

i raised $775 for the american cancer society and i finished the annapolis half marathon (more like the annapolis 12.75 mile run, though, since they left out a portion of the route because of a miscommunication :P). the race was good, but for some reason the people the american cancer society registered didn’t show up on the results list. from checking the time of someone i knew who started with me i saw it took them 2 minutes to reach the start of the race, and checking the time of someone who finished just before me and subtracting 2 minutes from his gun time, i figure i finished the race in 1:51:40. not bad, even if it wasn’t actually a full half-marathon. they had a few other troubles with the race, and part of the race had 3,200 runners on a narrow trail, but you’ve got to expect some troubles at an inaugural race.

this past saturday a rover was launched on its way to mars, and some of the folks i know from the NASA tweetup back in august and i were allowed in to the national air and space museum early (we have a hookup by way of the head of web / new media for the air and space museum, and one of the curators) to watch the NASA TV live stream; we had breakfast beforehand at a restaurant in a holiday inn near the museum, and i not only deserve a medal for waking up early on a saturday on a holiday weekend, but i biked 6 miles from my apartment to the holiday inn even before i had any breakfast.

i brewed a batch of beer using honey left over from feisty_fitz‘s wedding this summer. also, ever since caryn called me up on facetime to facepalm at me for making kraft macaroni and cheese out of a box, i’ve been trying to cook and eat better; as an example, i made red curry yesterday for dinner (had leftovers today) entirely from scratch and fresh ingredients, and it turned out really well. could have been a little spicier, i guess, but not bad for a first try!

mom has had on-again/off-again vertigo the past week or two, i think she’s going to the doctor tomorrow to see what’s causing it.

so, other than job and kinda-relationship stuff, things are going mostly well. i’m so not prepared for christmas, though, and it doesn’t seem like there’s only 34 days or so left in the year.

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#5330 – 3 c's

so yeah, last night i met clary, the current intern for metro collective. it feels like we were hitting things off, and after she left and i went out for drinks with the photographers they all commented how it seemed she seemed to want to hang around me for most of the night. to be fair, i wanted to hang around her as well, but we had fun talking with each other. i think the photojournalists are plotting to get the two of us together from the sound of things, haha… i heard talk of them planning a meeting and inviting the two of us, but then excusing themselves to leave the two of us alone, hahaha. she’s cute in a dorky way, and i wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. i told the photojournalists about caryn but how she’s out on the eastern shore (though she might be moving to the dc area) and they said “that’s no good, you need someone close by.”

first carrie, then caryn, and now clary. i think i have a problem with ‘c’ names. at least they’re similar…?