Many Mini Things
I need to get back into the habit of writing more frequently. It's kind of awkward to mix an intro post (which I still haven't managed to do) with real life japery with fannish squee. Plus I'm sleepy and my brain is vacant enough that I nearly set frozen vegetables on fire this afternoon, so we'll take it easy. (And by we I basically mean me.)
First and foremost: today was the Four-Star Bike Tour, which was 35 miles of Chicago neighborhoods. The weather was lovely, the route was fun and went through lots of streets I hadn't ventured down before. I discovered territory west of Kedzie that is actually not scary (territory that isn't technically part of the Conservatory). My only complaint, other than knowing the south side portion inside and out (awww, Kenwood!) was that for a while I was stuck behind two yuppie jerks who ran every single red light with a sense of entitlement I was pretty sure I was imagining, until the jerkoff male yuppie spent an entire light cycle arguing with a cop and doing smug, taunting circles in the middle of the intersection because the cop wanted him to stop at the red light even though there was no traffic. These are the cyclists that make me embarrassed to take my bike out! Good grief, man, just sit your expensive biking pants back down in your saddle and wait the minute and a half and show some small amount of respect for the guy who got put on detail guarding a random empty Pilsen intersection. And while we're at it, maybe try obeying traffic laws like a proper vehicle so people have less proof that cyclists are all a bunch of scofflaw brats. (I didn't see them again after I passed them going down toward the south side so either my wish for them both to get flats came true or they chickened out about going to the south side. I found a friendly group that stopped at lights, so I'm sure they would've overtaken me again if they'd had the chance.)
And while we're speaking of friendly... in order to finance my jaunt on the tour I volunteered with set-up yesterday. I spent the morning loading and unloading trucks and packing t-shirts at the Active Trans offices and... um. I really need a job at a non-profit like that. Everyone was so nice. And happy. Even though everyone was basically in a panic no one was shouting or arguing or being sarcastic or even just swearing to blow off steam (this is so common at my office its absence actually throws me off). But the thing that impressed me most? Everyone remembered my name. Everyone. Even today, when there were over 2,500 other riders around. I was very impressed. Perhaps it was easy because I was the only girl who volunteered to load trucks (yesterday also included a lot of wondering about whether I am functionally a dude and just don't realize it). But still, that's some dedication to your volunteers. I know there are DI people who still don't know my name.
And then I got home and was so tired I set my vegetables on fire. (Note to self: get new battery for smoke detector.) I was also going to pontificate about "Let's Kill Hitler" but I'm still sorting out exactly what I thought about it. Parts of it were wonderful. Parts of it were sloppy and very un-Moffat-like. Lots of things were tied together, though, and I'm beginning to feel like I have too-clear an idea of what is going to happen with the rest of this season. It's confusing! I don't know what to think! (I suspect that part of my problem sorting my feelings out might have to do with my efforts to re-read Homestuck this weekend, too. Trying to make sense of two massive, timey-wimey nonsensical canons at once is almost too much for my brain to handle. (Almost.))
Oh! And there are also new developments in the Case of the Missing Cash, but I'll cover that tomorrow once I'm clearer on what went down on Friday. (If the partners didn't just surreptitiously fire all of us on Friday. It's a possibility, given that the day ended with them taking everyone's office keys away.)
First and foremost: today was the Four-Star Bike Tour, which was 35 miles of Chicago neighborhoods. The weather was lovely, the route was fun and went through lots of streets I hadn't ventured down before. I discovered territory west of Kedzie that is actually not scary (territory that isn't technically part of the Conservatory). My only complaint, other than knowing the south side portion inside and out (awww, Kenwood!) was that for a while I was stuck behind two yuppie jerks who ran every single red light with a sense of entitlement I was pretty sure I was imagining, until the jerkoff male yuppie spent an entire light cycle arguing with a cop and doing smug, taunting circles in the middle of the intersection because the cop wanted him to stop at the red light even though there was no traffic. These are the cyclists that make me embarrassed to take my bike out! Good grief, man, just sit your expensive biking pants back down in your saddle and wait the minute and a half and show some small amount of respect for the guy who got put on detail guarding a random empty Pilsen intersection. And while we're at it, maybe try obeying traffic laws like a proper vehicle so people have less proof that cyclists are all a bunch of scofflaw brats. (I didn't see them again after I passed them going down toward the south side so either my wish for them both to get flats came true or they chickened out about going to the south side. I found a friendly group that stopped at lights, so I'm sure they would've overtaken me again if they'd had the chance.)
And while we're speaking of friendly... in order to finance my jaunt on the tour I volunteered with set-up yesterday. I spent the morning loading and unloading trucks and packing t-shirts at the Active Trans offices and... um. I really need a job at a non-profit like that. Everyone was so nice. And happy. Even though everyone was basically in a panic no one was shouting or arguing or being sarcastic or even just swearing to blow off steam (this is so common at my office its absence actually throws me off). But the thing that impressed me most? Everyone remembered my name. Everyone. Even today, when there were over 2,500 other riders around. I was very impressed. Perhaps it was easy because I was the only girl who volunteered to load trucks (yesterday also included a lot of wondering about whether I am functionally a dude and just don't realize it). But still, that's some dedication to your volunteers. I know there are DI people who still don't know my name.
And then I got home and was so tired I set my vegetables on fire. (Note to self: get new battery for smoke detector.) I was also going to pontificate about "Let's Kill Hitler" but I'm still sorting out exactly what I thought about it. Parts of it were wonderful. Parts of it were sloppy and very un-Moffat-like. Lots of things were tied together, though, and I'm beginning to feel like I have too-clear an idea of what is going to happen with the rest of this season. It's confusing! I don't know what to think! (I suspect that part of my problem sorting my feelings out might have to do with my efforts to re-read Homestuck this weekend, too. Trying to make sense of two massive, timey-wimey nonsensical canons at once is almost too much for my brain to handle. (Almost.))
Oh! And there are also new developments in the Case of the Missing Cash, but I'll cover that tomorrow once I'm clearer on what went down on Friday. (If the partners didn't just surreptitiously fire all of us on Friday. It's a possibility, given that the day ended with them taking everyone's office keys away.)