I don't understand.

I was out riding my bicycle on Sunday and a jerk in an SUV nearly ran me over. The kicker was that he intentionally buzzed me because he was annoyed with my placement on the road. After I got over my rage and desire to have had a grenade launcher in my backpack, I started to really think about this age-old bicycle/car feud. I don't understand it. I get that cars don't like being held up by cyclists in the road. I myself have found myself wondering why someone is taking up so much of my road when I am just trying to get from point A to point B in my car and I don't want to be delayed. I get the inconvenience. However, the thing is that A) Cyclists are not allowed to ride on the sidewalk, by law, so we have to be in the road. B) We have to be a few feet off of the side of the road to avoid being clobbered by an opening car door. We are not in the road to annoy you. In total, you are probably being delayed about 30 seconds while we pass some cars and get over so you can pass us.

More importantly, intentionally trying to scare someone on a bicycle by speeding past them and basically brushing against them is just stupid. Not only is it mean, but think about it- would you like to be in prison for vehicular manslaughter picking up the soap for some dude named Bubba because you had to wait 30 seconds to get by me? I highly doubt it.

I don't know where this vehicular rage comes from towards the cyclists who are basically just trying to be healthy, active, and environmentally friendly, but people need to take a deep breath and really think about what they are doing. If you live in Colorado and you hate cyclists, this is not the place for you to live. A lot of people ride bikes here. Why don't you and your SUV move to Houston or one of the other cities that have the highest obesity rate and weather that keeps people from going outside at all in the summer, and then you won't have to worry about it.

Sheesh.

Got It!

So today I was riding my bicycle in a big group ride and I got to thinking, "I wonder how many people are here... I would say there are 500 people here." Then I thought about how there is always a estimate of how many people showed up at an event. You know, when you see on the news that there were an estimated 1,000 people at an event. So I got to thinking... who gets the job of estimating the amount of people in attendance? That is what I would like to do. I want to be that person. I'm pretty "ok" at it... I mean, even if i'm wrong, no one would know. So that is my next career choice. I will be the person who guesses how many people are in attendance somewhere. Who wants to hire me?

My Police Scanner

Hello World... I know it has been a long time. I honestly haven't had too much I feel compelled to write about these days. Although, I think I actually have a lot to say. So, I am going to make an effort to re-emerge like Willy Wonka. Consider this my grand re-entrance.

So, for my first blog posting in a while I would like to talk about my police scanner. For starters, lets just get this out of the way right now: I don't watch cops, I have no desire to be a police officer (especially because I am extremely jumpy and I'm sure the force wouldn't appreciate one of their officers shrieking at the sight of something startling), and I never had the desire to do a "ride along" with a police officer. However, I recently got my phone (that has an app for everything....) an app for a police scanner. This thing is cool. I can listen to police frequencies all over the country. Believe me, Compton and Oakland are much more interesting than Denver. But, I like to listen and hear what's happening around town. When I first got it I was kind of addicted. I'd be hanging out with my friends and they'd be like, "KATE! Are you listening to that scanner again!?!?".. So I had to reel myself in and only do it in the privacy of my own home. I also used to like to listen to it if I was trying to fall asleep, but that was a bad idea because there are lulls in the transmissions and then all of a sudden I would hear a man's voice in my apartment and forget the scanner was on and it would scare the bajesus out of me (again, jumpy). So, I hadn't listened to the scanner in a while. But the other day I was coming home fairly late and as I pulled onto my street, I saw a homeless man in the process of breaking into a BMW. So I called the police non-emergency line, which I have saved in my phone because I live in the city and weird stuff happens all the time. I gave the officer the report and then went on my way but it occurred to me that I should turn on my scanner and see if I hear the report go through. Sure enough, within a few minutes I heard my own report get broadcast ! It was very exciting.

In summary, I feel a little guilty telling this story because hearing my own police report on my beloved police scanner really made my day. However, I am sure the owner of the BMW would have preferred not to fulfill my scanner dreams by having their car broken into. Sorry BMW person... next time don't park there.

A Letter To My Grandmother

Bubby,

It has been 6 months since you passed away, and I honestly haven't accepted that you are gone. I still feel your presence everywhere, and so many things remind me of you. I just got back from a trip with Mom and Frayda, and I see you in them now more than ever. Especially in how close they are, and how much they cherish each other. James and Kim played Craps in the casino and each won a couple hundred dollars. I couldn't help but wonder if you were watching those dice. I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say that not being able to pick up the phone and call you has been such an alien concept. The idea of your apartment sitting empty is unbelievable to me. However, with as much as I miss you, I also have a profound sense of relief on your behalf. I feel like you were waiting for this- and I like to picture you joining family and friends at last. Aunt Frayda had your photo albums put on disks so we could all have copies. I look at those pictures all the time and am so excited that we all have them.

In true Bess fashion, everyone despite being sad is living life. We are all looking out for each other, trying to play as hard as we work, and I feel certain we all wash our hands more than everyone else.

Love and miss you,

Kate

What? My dog doesn't think she owns the place.

Isabelle seems to think that me stacking her beds (most of which are MY pillows that she has commandered....) means that she should lay on top of all of them...

She is pretty cute though. That's why I let her have my pillows.

One Small Step For Man.....

I'm not sure if you all know this, but I started smoking cigarettes when I was a teenager. It was a decision that I always regretted- but once I started, there was really no turning back. Not because the nicotine had taken me hostage and I got all twitchy without a cigarette- that was never my biggest problem. My biggest problem was that I loved everything about smoking. I didn't even mind the gross parts like the way it made my clothes, car, and house smell. I loved sitting on a porch on a warm summer night and smoking with my friends. I loved smoking a cigarette after a big meal (who knows why that always makes people feel less full). I loved using it as a buffer when I was frustrated, upset, or mad (even though it was all placebo). I loved long road trips with good music and endless smokes. Smoking seems to have a way of enhancing a situation. It buffers a conversation. It brings strangers together.
That being said, I quit 6 weeks ago today, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Sure, I miss it and it hits me like a wall out of the blue, but there are a thousand reasons not to smoke, and really only one reason to smoke- I want to. It actually has been surprisingly less challenging than I expected to be out at bars or with my friends who all seem to smoke. I am so excited that I have enough self control to be successful that it's almost like everyday feels like a victory, and I wouldn't ever want to mess that up. Don't get me wrong, I don't get upset if someones cigarette smoke happens to blow in my general direction... it still smells so good to me.
Anyway, the point is that when I quit smoking, I picked up cycling, which is really what my story is about today. I have always LOVED riding my bike. When I was little, I rode practically everywhere. I still had my mountain bike from like middle school, and I decided if I proved to myself that I would stick with it, I would buy myself a nice bike. So, after a couple months of being consistent, I invested in a beautiful road bike that I know absolutely nothing about. I have tortured the poor souls at the bike shop with endless stupid questions, watched videos online, and am trying to acquire a completely new jargon. Yesterday, I had the bike fitting so that the dimensions were all perfectly matched for me- you know, seat height, handle bar adjustments, etc. I also had my cleats put on my new bike shoes. This is where the real victory comes into play. My bike pedals can be used with regular shoes, or you can flip them over and clip in with bike shoes. Now, the clips are on the bottom of the shoes and they literally lock into the pedal and you have to do a twisting motion with your ankle to pop them out of place. The guy at the store is saying that the number one problem is that people don't remember to unclip soon enough, panic, and end up falling over. I asked him if this was a common occurrence, and he was like, "Aw yeah, we've all done it". And I thought, great. I am the most accident prone person I know. I mean, as we speak I have three bruises on my legs that aren't related to any sort of recreational activity- more like I closed the car door on my own leg, etc. So I'm thinking I am in big trouble with these clips. Don't get me wrong- I'm already taking a chance with the bike all together, but I figure that I have good health insurance, always wear a helmet, and hope for the best. But the clips sound like a Kate accident waiting to happen. I couldn't just forget about them though because they really do make a huge difference when you are riding.
So I got home with the new shoes and clips today and decided to go out in the neighborhood and practice the clipping/un-clipping in motion. To my great surprise, I am really good at it! I can pop them in and out fairly easily, especially for a beginner I think, and they really do make it easier to pedal. I just have to remember to un-clip a few feet before stopping, but I think I can manage that.
The moral of this long story is that as I was riding back home, feeling like I'd really accomplished something, it occurred to me how long it has been since I learned how to do something new. I mean, I know you do new things fairly often, but I mean really finding something I am interested and having to learn a whole new skill. When you are little, it seems like that's all you ever do. It's like, I wanna play soccer, and then two weeks later it's ice skating, and then two more weeks it's painting, you get the idea. It seems like young minds are always eager to try new things and learn new skills- even if they are fleeting. It's hard to remember as you get older that there is a whole world of stuff and subcultures out there. Clubs and activities and enthusiasts just waiting for another person to catch on. It is so easy to get weighed down in a routine- and I haven't had a hobby in a really long time. I've just learned in the last month how important it is to have something you enjoy and can learn something new and work towards proficiency in.

So there you go everybody. That is the wisdom I have to share. If you don't have something, find something, and it will open up a whole new world of abilities you never knew you had.

Holy Joe Jackson.

In the wake of Michael Jackson's death there is so much to consider- but there is one issue that is really pissing me off. Not discounting it, lets put aside the fact that MJ may or may not have been a child molester.... I mean, we'll never know for sure what he was. What we do know is that he was a horribly tormented person who mutilated himself and was obviously uncomfortable in his own skin. We also know that he was abused mentally and physically by his father (and most likely sexually) for most of his childhood and that his Mother sat and watched as it happened without doing anything about it.

This being said, why in all that is holy are his kids being placed in their Grandmother's custody???? Their Grandmother has obviously proven that she can't stand up to Joe Jackson and he will torment those kids just like he tormented his own kids. I'm sure he use them as well to make a buck and smack them around if they try to resist. Out of this whole media frenzy, I can't believe more people aren't causing a fuss about that. I don't know. All I know is that just Joe Jackson's picture scares the bajesus out of me. There is obviously something dark and unpleasant about him and I wouldn't want to be court ordered to live with him. That's for sure.