Biking Adventures, Part Duex

For those of you in the know (or just scroll down a bit), I've been biking to work for the past 2-3 weeks. It's been quite an adventure to say the least. And to answer the burning question "am i saving money", no. i'm not saving money. That piece of steel and carbon machinery is only burning a deeper hole in my pocket. I'm getting flak from my parents cuz it was supposed to SAVE me money. Turns out, there's like a million gadgets you can put on your bike. Anything from mirros, lights (and you won't believe what kind of lights they've come up with), water-bottle-do-hickies, computers (they make some that cost more than dell laptops!!), the uber-sexy spandex pants, special biking t-shirts, bike specific socks(?!??!?!?!), stereo systems... yes, stereo systems, racks, special bike packs, snazzy neon color vests, and the list goes on and on. And oddly enough, it's really easy to justifiy buying a lot of these things. How do i do you ask? Simple. Will it help me live another 5-10 secs longer? Absolutely. It'll give me 5-10 second cushion for some crazed driver yelling into his/her cellphone (can you hear me now?!?! NOW?!?!?! HELLO?!?!?!? HEELLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!?) *for some reason, people tend yell into their phones thinking it'll make the reception better* who is furiously drink their venti mocha latte with soy milk with a dash of cinnamon and a touch of foam on top, to avoid driving into me, the poor soul whose wearing the most obnoxious colored thing I could find in my closet. Granted, it's not as bad as wearing stripes and plaid all at the same time (i can hear all you fashionistas out there cringing), but if it means you can't stand to look at my get-up, that means at the very least you're going to see me pedaling for my life...

Which leads me to another thing. I figured riding my bike to work would be relaxing. Give me some time before and after work to help me relax, gather my thoughts, do some thinking, reflect on the past week/day/events, spend some time talking with God or something like that. After all, after spending about 25 mins stuck behind incompetent drivers who can't figure out traffic is moving cuz they're too busy putting on make-up or trying to yell their cellphones into submission trying to go only about 6 and half miles, getting to the office with frazzled nerves isn't exactly the way I'd like to start my day. But driving home from church on sunday, I came to a stark realization. I don't think when i ride my bike. My mind stops working. It's like sand and dirt and glue has been poured into the gears in my head and all non-essential functions shutdown. Trying to replicated the great moments of clarity that arise when sitting on the porcelain throne just isn't happening. No eureka! moments. No divine inspirations. It's like i'm de-evolving as soon as my feet start moving and my butt hits that uncomfortable seat. The only thing i can remember of my bike rides tend to be along the lines of "pedal faster" and "cars too close" and something about breathing down car exhaust fumes. It's always one of those 3 thoughts, but not 2 or all 3. Just one. Normally it's "pedal faster" because i had just had one of those "cars too close" thoughts. Walking through the door at the office is probably the best part of my day, cuz it means I have made it to my destination alive and in one piece, and have about 8-9 hrs to clean and dry my soiled pants before i do it again going home.

I have therefore come to this great hypothesis about drivers and bikes. I might be going out on a limb here, but hear me out:

Drivers, when confronted with a foreign moving object, tend to drive closer to it.

Kind of bold statement, but let me explain. How many times have we seen accidents on the highways (880 comes to mind) and seen more accidents as a result of the accident that just happened? You might claim rubberneckers caused the follow-up accidents. But why? Why you ask? Because all of a sudden, you're no longer focusing on the car in front, but at the poor soul whose car ran out of gas on the side, or the person who cheated in the carpool lane, or whatever, and the car in front of you that you should be focusing on, now becomes a 'foreign moving object' (FMO). And inevitably, you either hopefully catch yourself and slam the brakes before your car becomes one with the FMO, or the laws of nature take over and your car tries to make other little cars with the FMO. Same thing goes with people on bikes. We become FMO. Only on a whole different level. For one, we're missing 2 wheels. Not only that, we're not running on gas of the petroleum type (i refuse to comment on this). And because of the curious nature of the FMO on the side of the road, the driver naturally will veer in that general direction. Simple physics. But as the operator of the FMO, one would hedge his bets that the laws of physics are bendable and easily manipulated. But alas, there are no math errors here. No missing sign or parenthesis. Just the sheer fact that these 'cars' are trying to shave my legs and wipe the bugs off their side mirrors on my obnoxiously colored shirt. I mean, i'm all for shaving legs to save time, to cut wind resistance, showcase my legs, or whatever. Swimmers shave their legs. I'm pretty sure Lance Armstrong does it as well. But i'm no lance armstrong. And last i checked, bikes don't work so well in the pool. And i'm probably not going to impress anybody with my silky, shiny legs at work. But that's beside the point. I like my legs the way they are, hair and all. And i would rather like to have a shirt that devoid of bugs on my backside. But obviously the laws of nature tends to win out here. Everyday, my little hypothesis is proven again about 4-5 times every time i get on the bike. I think i should publish my findings. Maybe people will stop talking about UFO's and start discussing FMO's. But that could backfire like HMO's... the similarities are striking.

What's my point? Nothing. But the fact that you wasted about 4 minutes of your precious time reading my rant makes me feel better. After all, you probably drove to work today anyways.

Soulful Melodic Harmonies

[Verse 1] //I know it's past visiting hours /But can I please give her these flowers /The doctor dont wanna take procedures /He claimed my heart can't take the anastesia /It'll send her body into a seizure /The little thing by the hospital bed, it'll stop beeping, /Hey chick, im at a lost for words /What do you say at this time? /Remember when I was nine? /Tell her everything gone be fine? /But i'd be lying, the family crying /They want her to live, and she trying /I'm argueing like what kind of doctor can we fly in /You know the best medicine go to people thats paid, /If Magic Johnson got a cure for A.I.D.'s /And all the broke muthaf****rs past away /You tellin me if my grandma was in the N.B.A. /Right now she'd be ok? /But since she was just a secretary /Working for the church /For thirty five years /Things sposed to stop right here /My grandfather tryin to pull it together, he strong, /Thats where I get my confidence from /I asked the nurse "did you do the research?" /She ask me, "can you sign some t-shirts?" /B***h is you smokin reefer? /You dont see that we hurt /But still... /[Chorus]//...I smile /The roses come to see me /And I can't wait for a sunny day /(Im seeing it through your eyes) /Can't wait for the clouds to break //[Verse 2] // They outside of the emergancy room, room / You can feel my heart beat, beat, beat / If she gone pull through / We gone find out soon / But right now she sleep, sleep, sleep / My mama say, they say she could pass away any day / Hey chick what these doctors know anyway / Let me see the X-rays / I ain't no expert, I'm just hurt / Cousin Kim took off for work / Plus my Aunt Shirley, Aunt Beverly, Aunt Claire and Aunt Jean / So many Aunties, we could have an Auntie team / Feel like Amerie "Its this one thing" / When they said that she made it / You see the eyes gleam / I think we at an all time high / To get there we run, we fly, we drive / Coz with my family we know where home is / So instead of sending flowers / We the roses... // I smile / The roses come to see me / And I can't wait for a sunny day / (Im seeing it through your eyes) / Can't wait for the clouds to break / Who brings the sunshine? / Ohhhhh I smile / The roses come to see me / And I can't wait for a sunny day / (Im seeing it through your eyes) / Can't wait for the clouds to break

-Roses, Kayne West

There's something about this song that's really soulful. I've never been a real big kanye fan, but the new album has a few songs that are worth listening to. But this song really made me pay attention. I feel the words really do make a very sharp point about the world today and the state that it's in. With all this hurt in this world, it's nice to see at least someone saying how it truely is. Not that i'm condoning what he talks about, but i do believe he has a valid point. But the chorus is really the clincher. If you ever the chance to listen to this album, this song gets my thumbs up. Just sit back and listen to the melody and background singers. It's so soulful. It makes your heart ache and feel for the plight of whatever kayne was trying to convey (although i have no idea what that is). Such a sharp and pleasant contrast from the stuff they're playing out there, i.e. lil' jon going 'skeet skeet skeet skeet" or whatever artist saying put your culo to the floor and move it around...

The Hurt We Feel

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends
like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are
as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

ring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when september ends
here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are
as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends
like my father's come to pass
twenty years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends

Rita



Katrina

Imagination Crisis

There is a dire crisis going on in the US. Although not as bad as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but dire none-the-less. I'm reference the state of affairs in the entertainment industry.

What am I talking about? Movie theater operators are complaining about sluggish sales, half-empty theaters, and movie execs are gripping about lack-luster returns on their "blockbuster' summer movies. They're blaming everything from dvd sales, home theater systems, the newest fandangled tv technology, hd tv, whatever they have think of except the obvious. The movies absolutely, positively stink. Period. It's horrible. Nothing's new. Everythings is a remake of some movie the made in the 50-60's. Or it's a sequel of a grossly mediocre movie made 5 years ago. Although some do a half decent job, it's all remakes or sequels. Or some adaptation off a book or continuation of a tv show (okay, jackass was something i actually paid money to see willingly, but that's different).

And now because of the hit show "lost", seems like all the networks have deemed that genre a "great thing" and have now come up with their own twist of the same concept. Pretty sad. Where's the originality? What happened to the days when people actually wanted to watch tv because of the great/funny/captivating stuff on it, and not because "there's nothing else to do". How many spin-offs of Survivor do we have to suffer through? How about americal idol? Every year you have auditions, you're only opening up 1 more year of talent, and recycling all those people we laughed at the last year.

Nothing's fresh. Nothing catches my attention and screams "i really want to watch that". Movies aren't exciting anymore. TV is so bland, it's not even worth turning on as background noise. And why is that? How did we allow the state of things backslide so far? Are we as a society so desensitized to entertainment that it takes extreme measures to get us excited? Are shows like fear factor going to be "ho hum" 5 years from now? Or is it something more fundamental?

Now I may be going out on a limb here, but it's my own opinion on my own blog, so if you don't agree, too bad. Come find me and we can have a nice chat about it watching bland tv or over-hollywood'ed movie (star wars comes to mind...) What are kids being taught these days in school? What were we taught in school? Not to say that we're all ignoramouses, but what was your school experience like? What were we spoon-fed throughout all ~15-20 years of school? And there's another thing. Spoon-fed. We're told what to do. We had to do homework. We had to take tests. Why? Because we needed to do well on them and get good grades. What for? So we could get into a good university and get a decent job. Then what? Exactly. Then what? That 'what' is exactly the argument i keep hearing repeated over and over and over again. A general discontentment with the life people are living. They need a better job cuz the one they have sucks. Okay, so they switch jobs. But then what? A few years later, unhappy all over again, quit and repeat cycle. People constantly ask "what's the point of all of this?" But i'm starting to digress a little. Imagination. Instant gratification. We want results NOW. This moment. Not a moment later. Ahora, aqui!! Apurate! We are a product of the microwave generation. We're taught in school that SAT scores are king. AP scores are the keys to get into a good school. Study study study study so you can get a good sat score, score 5's on the ap tests and maybe, just maybe you'll get into a tier 1 school, such as berkeley, stanford, mit, hardvard, etc... I hope this is nothing new for you. Perhaps, just perhaps, this is a harsh and stinging reminder of the days we call high school.

But we're fed this nonsense from when we were little. And it only seems that it's getting worse. Kids are taking more standardized tests. No child left behind. Everyone needs to score X to progess to the next grade. You must be good in math. You must be good in reading comprehension. You must be good at analyzing situations and filling in bubbles with #2 pencils on strangly cut scan-tron sheets and sitting in walled off desks so you can't look at your neighbor for 2 hrs at a time while your parents nervously bite their nails at work, wondering just how well your peers are doing because the all important property value is linked to you and your peers performance on those little bubble tests. We're forced to think in a mold and perform to certain standards in order to be considered "well-groomed" and ready for the real world.

But what about that poor kid who can't do math? What if he don't read good? What if he's extraordinarly gifted musically or artistically? He's basically screwed. We're all square pegs. Some of us are round, some triangle, some stars, yet i feel the system is trying to systematically pound us through the square hole. There's no room for any kind of imaginative thinking. You either perform to what the education system deems is "right and acceptable", or your a social outcast. And because of this mentality, we are now reaping the benefits of this edumacation system. Stale TV. Hollywood is literally out of ideas. Musical artists are sampling everyone else who came before them. Modern ar... no comments about this otherwise i'm going to be stepping on a lot of peoples toes, and that's a little bit more subjective a subject. But you get my drift.

Where have all the thinkers gone? Where is the imagination? Where is the creativity? Something needs to change and needs to change fast, otherwise we're going to end up with a society who's main goal in life is to get the new high score in the lastest and greatest video game that came out and brag about how new and shiny their kitchen is when all the know how to use is the microwave and refrigerator. (i'm guilty of this, but let's not go there...)

The New Hotness

So i've been pedaling to work the past 2-3 days. Started on wed. It's a lot different than driving in the car besides the obvious. There's a lot more things you notice when you're not stuck inside the car. You realize just how noisy a/c units on top of the building really are. You never think about it because normally you're inside the building, it's running but you don't hear, but you feel it. In the mornings though, when there's no cars whizzing by you shaving the hair off your legs, it's really noisy. There's also the Guadalupe "river" i need to cross which provides a nice contrast to the constant buzz and drone of the diesel truck whose fumes i keep sucking up.

But all in all, it's been a successful endeavor. Hopefully i'll keep it up and get me pseudo-lance armstrong legs. One day. But not anytime soon. Coworkers have been really supportive. My boss even is thinking of biking to work as well. It's getting contagious. But i'm not exactly holding my breath. The bike is performing like a dream. It's really easy to get moving, i'm learning the whole clipless pedal thing (i'm physically attached to the bike), getting better going up the hills, and learning how crazy some drivers really are. It's been fun.

So in summary, I think my experience this past week can be summed up in 3 simple words.

My Ass Hurts.

That is all.

My New Car

With gas prices climbing to the high heavens these days, I made a decision to significantly alter my driving habits. Filling up the tank of the trusty honda has become a nightmare on the pocketbook. Gassing-up the v6 started costing 35-37-39-41-43... 45!! dollars each time. Everytime i went to the pump, the price increases never seemed to stop. And to think not that long ago i was appalled at the fact that it was costing me over 30 bucks to fill up the tank. So after realizing that with all the driving to church on the weekends, I needed to cut back on as much driving as I could. Not to say that I'm totally ditching driving anywhere and becoming a hermit, holed up in my house spending all of my awaken hrs staring at a computer monitor. Nope. I just needed to find a more fuel efficient method of transportation. And seeing the gas meter top out over 45 dollar last week, I decided that was it. I had to do something. Enough lip service and empty words. It was time to put my money where my mouth was. I had to get a new set of wheels.

Initially i thought of getting a motorcycle. Those things are super fuel efficient, getting something like 60 mpg, and seeing how i only live about 6.5 miles from work, i could go about week on a single gallon of gas. That's awesome. But after figuring in cost of bike, cost of maintenance, cost of insurance(ouch!!), and not to mention the tirade i got from my mom, had to scratch that idea. Bummer. And since i already had a car, what's the point of getting another car, no matter how fuel efficient it was? It was still insurance money and another struggle to figure out where to park it, etc. So that was a bunk idea. But inspiration had hit earlier in august:



After pedaling across the golden gate bridge with stanford folks and my sister, and seeing how work wasn't that far, i decided to ditch gas altogether. Albiet, there will still be gas involved, but only of the "what i ate for dinner" brand variety of gas. But that's for a whole different post altogether....

So initially budgeting myself $x amount for a bike, I decided to go shopping for a bike. But not just any kind of bike. I wanted to get a road bike. A Lance Armstrong kind of bike. Not that I intend to be lance, but hey, I can dream, right?

So these are my new set of wheels:



So instead of spending x amount of what i was hoping for, i pretty much spent 2x. I had originally anticipated spending x dollars so i could recoup my costs on the bike within a year or less (seeing how gas is still going up, could be faster). But now... *sigh* it's going to take a looooong time to break even on this thing. But hey, at least i'm getting some exercise. 2x a day too boot. But it's pretty sad because the first thing i realized when I got the bike is that man!!! I'm waaaaayyyyyy outta shape. My legs are like jello when i walk through the doors in the morning. And going home? It's all uphill. If you ever see a poor soul pedaling like mad yet not going anywhere in a hurry, that'll probably be me going home.

But the new commuting adventures have officially commenced. So far, no flat tires, no close calls with cars, no spills, and no fingers missing. I'd say i've been fairly successful so far. We'll see how long this holds out. I'm sure before the end of the month, I'm going to get really friendly with a windshield/side panel/bus, either that, or i'm going to shave my knee or end up eating some really gross hospital food for a few weeks (my mom brings home some hospital food sometimes... stuff is really gross).

Pray for my safety so I don't end up looking like pancake squished between a bus and a car. =D But on the other hand, it'll be a good way to instantly slim up my fat ass...

Humbled and Broken

They have tv's in the gym at work which i always stop at glance at on the way to use the bathroom. Normally, people turn it to CNBC and watch stock stuff or espn to watch sports, or whatever. But recently, it's been glued to CNN or fox news. Ever since the hurricane came and went, it's just absolute chaos and complete pandimonium over there. Residents are calling it their "tsunami", but in so many ways, it's actually worse. With the tsunami, water came in quickly, but then back away in most spots. Although it left a path of destruction so unimaginable, the waters receeded. But in New Orleans, water came slowly. Inches at a time. Rising higher and higher. But unlike a tsunami, the water is still there. Reading the news and watching tv, looking at pictures, it's all rooftops amid this gigantic lake of where New orleans once was. It's absolutely ridiculous. People who have died are just left as is by the rescuers, diverting their priorities to finding those who are alive and stranded, not bothering with those beyond saving. It's a truely sad and desperate situation over there.

But what irks me the most, is last week when they were talking about katrina and the possible path and the destruction it would leave in it's wake, the news teams always talked about "doomsday" scenarios about how New orleans would be flooded cuz it's below sea level, etc... and in some sick and stupid way, i was somewhat hoping that it would happen, just to see how bad it could be. I know it's juvenile and a terrible thing to hope for, but there's that little part that says 'what if', and if you remove all the loss of life, loss of property, it would be somewhat of a strange thing to see, almost like the fabled atlantis. But what's going on over there is just disheartening and downright sad. I just want to turn off the tv, stop reading the news, pretend it never happened. But it is happening. And i can't stop watching/reading about it. It's almost as if because i had hoped for it, I need to see the effects of it and see how much hurt is in this world. God really does have a way to hitting where it hurts and showing you your faults in ways you never knew would affect you. This is probably more information than most of you care to know or whatevers, but I figure it's one way to keep me accountable for my sinful foibles.

The world is hurting for God's love.