Time to Face Reality

i didnt go to work today because yesterday i was hit by a car, on my bike. my bike is broken, but i am more or less fine. but, in attempt to avoid the reality that is my sad state right now, i have done about as much procrastinating as one person can in a day.

today i woke up at 6:45 for work, could not move, called in sick. i then proceeded to engage in the following procrastinating activities (1) sleep for 5 more hours. (2) do laundry (3) search the internet (4) make a DOCTOR'S appointment (5) WORK FROM HOME (6) cook dinner (7) watch the wedding banquet (8) talk to long lost friends on IM and now (9) write in this blog.

what is it you wonder, that i am avoiding...a dreaded personal statement. ive written about 5 times the word limit, and it's all shit. and it's so frustrating that i figured that the only thing i could do about it at this point is complain about it to the emptiness that is the internet. (though i did recently discover that people i dont know read this. why they would do such a thing is sort of beyond me.)

anyway. i should try to work. or, maybe i'll give myself a manicure...

Tales from the Road

in search of a mini-vacation, and in keeping with my triathlon aspirations, this july 4th weekend, i set out to milwaukee...on my bike. now before i pat myself on the back too much, i should make quite clear that i biked only one direction, and i had friend driving to pick me and my terry wherever i chose. (the chosen place in case you're wondering was on the north side of racine wisconsin, about 20 miles shy of downtown milwaukee. i felt kind of like a slacker taking a ride when i was so close, but i'd already put in 85 miles, so i shouldn’t give myself too much crap.)

the ride, including multiple stops, took me just over 6 hours, and much to my delight, i dont feel even the slightest bit of soreness only 2 days later. but anyway, none of this is what's actually blog worthy about this trip. on sheridan road from chicago to milwaukee, one can encounter many oddities. here are some highlights.

1. location: just south of waukegan. i pull off the road for a rest and to buy some gatorade at a gas station. i'm detaching myself from my bike when the manager comes outside to ask me if everything is ok. everything is fine, but i want to take my bike inside his store. after gaining permission to do so, i head to the refrigerated section to examine the gatorade options. i look for awhile in dismay. they have lemonade, but no lemon lime. they have fruit punch plus kiwi, but no plain fruit punch. it seems they have every odd combo gatorade has come up with, but nothing too standard. i finally settle on a lone bottle of regular orange flavor that's hidden in the back. i gingerly walk my bike through the candy isle, taking great care not to knock over a rack of chocolate. when i finally get to the counter, the guy rings me up. i hand over my cash and, as he's giving me my change, the following conversation transpires:
me: how far is waukegan from here?
clerk: oh, waukegan is the next light right up there.
me: ok, great. and, do you know how far it is to kenosha from here?
clerk: in a car it takes me about 10 minutes. where are you going?
me: oh, well i'm eventually going to end up in milwaukee.
clerk: where are you coming from.
me: chicago
clerk: north chicago?
me: no, chicago, chicago.
clerk: you mean, chicago downtown?!
me: well, yes.
clerk: how long will it take you?
me: about 7 hours probably.
clerk: and how old are you?
me: i'm 23.
clerk: are you sure? you look young.
me: well, i'm 23 alright, but i am wearing biking gear and a helmet, and i'm only 4'10" (to give you the proper context for the conversation as it proceeded to go, i'll tell you that i was wearing black spandex bike shorts (with a padded butt), shoes that make walking pretty much impossible because they have clips on the bottoms, a black tank top and blue helmet, and i had a jacket tied around my waste that was basically covered in grease from getting caught in my bike chain about 20 miles earlier. all of this is accompanied by a thin layer of grime.)
clerk: well, do you have a boyfriend?
me: (after a pause that was too long to make me believable). yes i do. (to my family, this is not the case. i am not hiding any secret lovers from you all. it's just what i say to keep creepy men from bothering me.)
clerk: well, where is he?
me: (after another pause that was too long. this time it was my conscious telling me that what i was about to say was very unfair to my dear friend. but, i was caught, so what's a girl to do.) he's coming to meet me.
clerk: so, there's no chance of me getting your phone number?
me: nope.
clerk: are you sure?
me: yep. as i walk my bike out of the store. my lack of grace when handling a bottle of gatorade and a bike makes this escape take about twice as long as it should.

as i ride away i think: (1) am i supposed to feel flattered by this? (2) is this guy is looking for immigration papers? (3) waukegan/north chicago must be a pretty sad place to live.

2. location: just over the wisconsin border. this one's much shorter, but much MUCH more bizarre. i'm riding north when i see a couple driving south on a motorcycle. nothing weird about that, except that they're towing something. i look to see what they're towing, and it's a coffin. that's right, a coffin. just as if it were a jet ski or a small boat. these people are towing a coffin. and, it's not even enclosed in anything.

i'll leave it to you to decide whether or not there was a body inside...

MIHRC joins the 21st Century

a few months ago, my apartment finally got DSL. last week, MIHRC finally got a website. it's still got a few things to be worked out, but it's pretty darn good, especially since we used to have nothing. you can check it out here.

Long Time No Post

after my apartment got dsl, i promised the approximately 2 people in my readership that i would resume posting on a regular basis, but i haven't kept to that word in about a month, so i guess i'd better provide something for people who care to read.

let's see. i guess as good a topic as any is the reason i haven't had much to say. this is a somewhat complicated topic as it falls into one of the topics i feel should generally be excluded from my blogging. there are a couple of subjects i prefer to avoid in this context. for example, i generally dont like to talk politics, though on occasion, my work leads to politically charged posts. another topic i prefer to avoid is that of romance. mostly because there is none in my life. but also because, if there were, talking about it in this context would be highly uncouth.

and there is one other topic i generally feel should be avoided in the context of blogging -- one's mood. for example, you the reader already know that i recently took the LSAT. you may not know that i officially canceled my score on this god forsaken test today, but either way, you know that the test is a topic of high anxiety in my life. you all also know that i've been planning to participate in a the chicago triathlon. you may not know that i had my first major crash on my bike this past weekend, basically because im a klutz, but you dont need that extra information to know that my training is going less than super well, and that too is a cause of anxiety.

there it is, for better or worse, for all the internet to read. keren is anxious about life. who knows why, but i read on one of those quotable magnets or postcards that if you're going through hell you should keep going. so that's what im doing.

Running on Pillows, with a Bunion. An Ode to a Shoe

like many things in my life of late, training for the triathlon has been frustrating. particuarly because of the more or less constant pain i have been experiencing. the pain is primarily in my right foot and residue from an accident circa 1998, and it's been a real bitch when trying to motivate myself to "hit the pavement" so to speak.

but, alas came a brand of shoes with extra cushion in the toe bed to prevent aches in my developing bunion and with stiffer sides to give me stability to (sort of) solve my long lasting achilles tendon problems. today, i begrudgingly went on a run, but to my delight it felt like running on pillows. 3 painless miles. i should have done more, but it was dark. and i have lsating to do.

so, for now, i'll just have to thank saucony for their brilliance in shoes and hope that the pain doesnt come back.

What a Difference a Day Makes

yesterday, i was riding my bike from work to an unplanned cubs game. north bound at navy pier the police officer says to me as i'm waiting for the light to change, "i love blue eyes. you want me to stop traffic for you?" my response was, well, you could do that, but i'm in no hurry. if i'd only known that there would be a million people out at 6:00 on a tuesday enjoying chicago's first real 80 degree day, i might have taken that officer up on his offer to speed things along.

and then today. i'm running home from work. this time, i'm going south, so less people is to be expected. except today, my only other interaction was with a goose. the goose hissed at me for running too close to it's chick. i picked up the pace. i'm pretty sure that goose could have done me some major damage.

True Signs of My OCD

sometime ago, someone sent me a package. the package contained a large amount of bubble wrap. after enjoying whatever was in the package, i decided to save the bubble wrap because it would one day provide me with a good stress relief activity. instead the bubble wrap collected dust in my room until it along with the other junk that had been accumulating started to stress me out, so i threw it away. and the thing i saved to prevent stress caused more than it ever could have relieved.

and, i've now had not one, but two LSAT anxiety dreams. maybe i should wait until october...

Triathlons for the Geometrically Challenged

sometime this week i decided it was time to bite the bullet and invest in some triathlon foot wear. clip on shoes and real running shoes. i told myself i would buy the running shoes that fit best regardless of price and that with the bike shoes, i would get something decent that actually fit me.

but, in addition to having the vertical challenge of being four feet ten inches, i also face the horizontal challenge of having very wide, flat feet. that are a very small size five and a half. i went to the running store where you go when you know you have problems. they gave me some shoes sent me to the street gave me some options then said that they didnt carry my size in many brands. (you know you're in trouble when you go into a "serious" running store and they give you nike). they found a few for me to try and promised to order them for me to test. and then i'll shell out the most i think i've ever paid for a pair of shoes with the hope that my calf muscles will stop aching and my toes will stop throbbing.

and at the bike store, they were all about the sale. they got it, but only because i want to take advantage of the coming weekend's warm weather to try my luck with these new, fancy shoes. they gave me a few to try, and the sales person pulled out last season left over small sized when i told her there was no way i was paying $150 for a pair of cycling shoes that i couldnt get in and out of quickly. and you know you're in trouble when you tell the woman you wear a five and half and she gives you a "US five" from a brand that sizes only in mens. i tried on the five and thought it was odd it was so large. i looked inside and discovered that she had tried to sell me a 38 when i wear a 35 on a good day. we went over this a bit and i settled on a pair of "us fours" which are supposedly size 36. they seem to fit well enough, though i'll have to ask around as to how they are supposed to fit.

so far in my quest to dress for the triathlon, i have had to special order both my bike and my running shoes. my bike shoes i got because they were the only ones left from the previous season. i've given one shot in running in a swim suit to test the support, but that was a no go. so the next task...outfitting the geometric challenge that is my bust.

It's True What They Say...

there really is no such thing as a free lunch. today on my way home from the gym, i noticed that my bike tire (on my old bike) was pretty flat. i stopped at the gas station on 53rd to get some air, but apparently you have to pay for air these days. 50 cents. but, since i wasn't carrying any money, no air for me.

the good news was that i was able to enter the gym, for the second time since my incident.