Friday, February 24, 2006

Finally Did the Downhill... but not Clipped In.

Okay, so here is the deal, I finally got some clipless pedals for the first time a few months ago and everybody says, "You'll fall off a few times, but after you get used to it you'll be okay." So when I first went riding I was real proud of myself when I properly unclipped before every stop. Then I decided to take my daughters riding around the block, so I'm riding as slow as possible with them and they're pretty cute with their pink and purple bicycles so everybody glances when we go by, and around a corner my youngest has to go out in the street so I slow down even more to let her go in front of me and the bike starts to go over. So I put my foot down. Or at least that is what I meant to do, but what ended up happening was I went completely over with the bike up in the air because I was clipped in and I couldn't unclip to save my life and to make it all even better there is a group of teens lounging across the street and they just bust out laughing (which is understandable because it must have looked really funny).

So after that ride (and I actually fell over twice in one trip around the block, which made my older daughter really laugh because she had just learned to ride her bike and she didn't fall over once) I was a little more cautious and worried because I realized that your mind doesn't behave properly if you need to automatically put your feet down (until you've re-learned that way). And besides it hurts to fall down in the street and it is embarrassing to have people laugh at you. So I had avoided taking my favorite riding route since getting the new pedals because it goes over this hill and has some downhill singletrack on the other side with a pretty good drop on one side and I wanted to be sure of myself before taking it.

So what ends up happening was that I would feel angry at myself for being a coward and not taking the downhill on and I actually started dreading riding because I thought I might never feel up to going over the hill again. (Weird, huh?) Well, today I went rode up to the trailhead and I made myself do it and although the downhill was tougher than it was with the old pedals (because there is a lot less platform and I wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally clip in), I managed not to injure myself and I feel pretty good for breaking through that barrier. That said, I don't know how much I'll continue to do that because for me downhills are all about concentration and when I'm concentrating on not clipping in I feel like I'm a lot more likely to make a mistake.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Fish out of water

That's me. I am known for my snap decision making, yet I am paralyzed with the inability to choose.......
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What I'm going to knit next. :D

A friend gave me two Wal-mart bags stuffed full of yarn, one bag was all the furry stuff, the other was mostly this really luxe baby yarn and a few other random skeins. I'm stuck, I don't know what to do with it all, but it's calling my name and begging me to do something with it. *sigh* I'm thinking of starting an afghan with the baby stuff just to get the monkey off my back, but it's a little silly as I've already finished an afghan for the only pregnant person I know. Oh well, gotta get my fix. *ha*

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Great Cake

I've been a Cake fan ever since I first heard Rock'n'Roll Lifestyle, but on their most recent CD (Pressure Chief) the best song (in my opinion) is End of the Movie. Here are the lyrics:

People you love
Will turn their backs on you
You'll lose your hair
Your teeth
Your knife will fall out of its sheath
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
People you hate will get their hooks into you
They'll pull you down
You'll frown
They'll tar you and drag you through town
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
No you still don't like to leave before the end of the show
People you hate will get their hooks into you
They'll pull you down
You'll frown
They'll tar you and drag you through town
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
No you still don't like to leave before the end of the show

Ain't that the truth?

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

FLCL Update

So, it turns out that FLCL was just stupid. :( Very weird, oddly sexual, and just plain hard to understand. TME read some reviews and episode guides and it turns out there are a lot of inside jokes that refer to either other shows (that we haven't seen) or things from Japanese culture (that we aren't familiar with).

On a good note: there is finally a release date for the North American version of Final Fantasy Advent Children! The only people who would be interested in it already know what it is, but for Amy's benefit (ha!) it's a movie that is basically a sequel to a video game (Final Fantasy VII). We already have the Japanese version (with subtitles) but I am looking forward to actually hearing it in English. :)

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Jane Finished my Hoodie!

Jane finished my sweater today (isn't she amazing - she only started it a short time ago). It is very soft and comfy. She's bummed because it is warm now, but it will get chilly enough to enjoy the sweater in a few weeks.

Warming Up

It is just starting to warm up and although it can get pretty cold in March this is usually an indicator here that winter is mostly over. That means that I made it through the holiday season with minimal weight gain. Even better, since I used the trainer during winter it seems that I've actually gained cycling strength over the winter season. This is a big deal for me. I think the big lesson here is clear: keep the calorie intake as low as possible over the winter season (there is a natural growth anyway, but if you can keep some self-control the payoff is tremendous) and exercise as much as possible - and you will go into the warm season way ahead of the game. Now that it is warming up I've noticed from my FitDay logs that I'm having a much easier time keeping under the calorie bar than I was the past few months.

Friday, February 10, 2006

huh?

So, TME and I have been on an Asian movie kick for a while. We've watched kung fu movies, samurai movies, and a LOT of anime. Right now we're in the anime mode. We watched the whole series of Trigun (which was excellent, if you're into that sort of thing), Cowboy Bebop (took a while to grow on me, and Faye's outfit annoyed me, but was otherwise pretty interesting), and right now we're watching The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (kinda funny so far, but I'm hoping it gets better).

But in the midst of watching Captain Tylor, my dear TME decided he wanted to see the whole series of a show he saw once on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. That show was FLCL, pronounced "Furi Kuri" or "Fooly Cooly" depending on how Japanese you are, I guess. Now, you have to understand that pretty much all these shows are based on some kind of futuristic world, lots of robots and amazing weaponry and spaceships and all that. I have no problem with digesting a show that's based on all kinds of unrealistic things. But I have to tell you, I watched four episodes of this show (there are only 6 total!) and I have no idea what in the world is going on. Even TME is confused, and when a dedicated INTP like him can get totally confuzzled by the plot of television show, then there is no hope for us realist ISTJ's to have a clue what is going on. I'm looking forward to seeing the last two episodes only because then I will know for sure if this is just stupid or if there's really supposed to be a point to this show. LOL

P.S. Sweater report: Front and back and both sleeves are done. I want to sew the sleeves on to see if they are the right length before I start the hood.

Sunday, February 5, 2006

On Behalf of Jane

Well, the Zicam worked (or at least she got over the cold quickly, anyway). And I have to report that I've now managed to dodge 3 out of the last 3 colds that have gone through the house. (I think it is due to all of the juice I've been drinking, but I might have just gotten lucky, I guess.)

She also wanted to say that she has to work really fast on my sweater since it is getting warm. (But it is just the nice February warmth and we always have some freezing and windy days in March and April, so she shouldn't worry too much.)