here you have it

bepowered

ah, the last friday of the month. i'm sad to see you go, april, but last fridays bring the monthly critical mass ride! it was pretty drizzly today, and it took me a few hours in a warm coffee shop to dry out, one biker actually got hit by a turning vehicle, and i had to put the chain back on dana's bike twice, but it still feels good to get out there and force motor vehicles to share the roads. madison is a pretty progressive town, but there is still an appalling amount of disrespect going on out there on the streets. pedestrians, motorists, mopeds and bicycles alike: can't we all just get along?

also... thank you all for putting up with my depressing rant the other day. it really helps to get those frustrations out there. it's even better when it creates discussions. here's a part of what was on my mind when i wrote that post:

what is an ecological footprint? have you ever thought about how many resources it takes just to keep you, one single person, fed and warm and mobile? do you wonder what kind of impact you, one single person, are making on the enviroment? you can measure your very own ecological footprint here. i strongly urge you to check it out. here's what i got out of it: worldwide, the biologically productive space available to sustain one average human being is 5.4 acres. my footprint measured 43% of an average american's, but somehow, i'm still using 10.9 acres. how can this be? i'm using HALF the resources of an average american, but am still taking up TWICE the space that's globally available to me. how is this possible? something's got to change, dude, something's GOT to change. it's so overwhelming sometimes, but today it starts here. it starts with me, one single person. margaret mead said it best: “never doubt that the work of a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

do you wonder?

do you ever get overwhelmed with questions? do you ever feel your heart and your brain being pulled in so many directions, your body being spread so thin that you feel you may become transparent?

why are we a nation of me first, consumption and cash? why do we celebrate violence? why are we so resistant to diversity? why do we choose the path of least resistance, fast food, and mass production? why do we eat processed meat from factory farms and feed lots, and still feel ok about it when we hug our dog or cat before we go to work in the morning? why do we buy bulky vehicles that get 10 miles per gallon of gas to commute to and from work and the grocery store without passengers? why do we believe everything we see on the news? why are we only now, way after the fact, investigating the things that were were demonstrated for over a year ago? why aren't we really sure of the origins of our national holidays? why is it so hard to get people to reduce, reuse and recycle? why do we buy in to pop culture and fads? why do we eat so much sugar and drink so much caffiene? why do we want quick fixes and a pill for everything? why are we so divided? why do we get so many conflicting answers for the same questions?

why do i care? why can't i let it go? why do i need answers? why can't i be oblivious like everyone else?

the weekend menu

soundtrack of the day:
"water baby" by the sneaker pimps
"the goin' get tough from the getgo" by ween
"red-eyed and blue" by wilco
"postcards from mexico" by girlyman
"sympathy" by sleater-kinney
"two-headed boy" by neutral milk hotel
"bitter" by jill sobule
"kick it" by melt banana
(ok, so that's not the actual title of the melt banana song, i just call it that because i don't know the actual title and those are the only words i can make out in the whole song)

thought of the day:
gertrude stein once said about the lack of commas in her writings that she left out the commas because readers should know on their own when to pause.

today's activities:
party in the park with andrew w k.

tomorrow's activities:
jump out of an airplane.

what a ride

finally, the day i've been looking forward to for weeks: earth day. work kinda sucked this morning, but i was driven by thoughts of what the afternoon would bring: my biyearly eye exam, and an extra special bike ride through town.

the eye doctor was awesome. we talked about how we both want motorcycles, but ride bicycles for now. he reconsidered dilating my eyes when i told him of my post appointment plans, but i told him that it wasn't for another hour, plus i'd be in good company... and how very much i love having my eyes dilated... so he dilated them just enough to be able to see what he needed to see. at first it was frustrating having to squint so much outside, especially since it wasn't at all sunny, but i got used to it and my eyes were back to normal in no time. yay for sunglasses. he also fitted me for contact lenses. weird, weird, WEIRD! not only did he put a little tiny suction cup (the contact lens) on my eyeball, he PUT a tiny little SUCTION CUP on MY EYEBALL with HIS FINGER. he put his finger in my eye, and i was paying him to do it. how f***ed up IS that? next week, when the contacts i need come in, i have to go to a class to learn how to take them in and out and wash them and stuff. contact lens class... hahaha. i can't wait.

then there was the ride. when i got there, i couldn't read any of the signs, or make out any familiar faces, so i sat under a tree and watched the blur undulate before me. there were about 20 or so of us taking up the entire south bound lanes of park street all the way from library mall to fish hatchery road to the hummer dealership on the other side of the beltline. we held up traffic for a half an hour. one bike on the road asks for respect. 20 bikes on the road demand it. i have not the space or the time to get in to all of the 4,859 reasons why i felt justified blocking traffic today, but you can check this out if you're curious.

edited to add:
the first story on the 10:00 news tonight was headlined "the toughest of trucks gets run over by bicycles." and showed some pretty nice pictures of our protest at the H2 dealership. the story reported that there were 40 people there. aww yeah.

april is the best month

the best thing about having a birthday on 4/17 is that there's usually cake left over for 4/20. *tee hee*

let's waste a couple hours.

earth day

listen up everyone: this coming thursday is earth day. what does that mean? it means that it's time to take a day to reflect upon what the earth has done for you. it's a day to say "thank you" to the earth for all it's hard work. take some time to appreciate the earth. give the earth a hug. love the earth, it's your home.

how am i planning on celebrating? it's a funny story, actually.... a couple weeks ago, i called up my local eye doctor to make an appointment. as i was marking the info on my calendar, i noticed the blurb at the bottom of the square that said "earth day." cool, now i get to take earth day afternoon off of work, since i can't possibly go back to work with my eyes dilated. then last week i got an email from a group called madison critical mass saying that they are planning a special earth day ride at 4pm. normally, i'm at work until 4pm, and would have had to miss this awesome event. not this time! i'll be off all afternoonn! yay! not only that, but the ride starts downtown, goes along a busy street heading out of town, during rush hour, and ending up at the GM dealership to protest the sales of the gas guzzling H2. this sounds like an excellent way to celebrate earth day. except that i'll be using myself and my bicycle on a busy street to block traffic during rush hour to make a point all while my eyes are still dilated from a 2pm eye appointment. if i live, i'll have some awesome stories to tell. don't worry, mom, i'll wear my helmet.

anyone who is interested should come to (or at least spread the word about) this bike ride. meet at library mall at 4pm, the ride goes from there to the hummer dealership (which is near club 5). protest at the dealership will be at about 5pm. FU, H2!

happy birthday to me

it is now 3:30pm and i am just beginning to feel normal again after last night's celebration of my 23rd turn around the sun. that's right, yesterday was my birthday. it was a grrreat day. i love my birthday. extra special thanks to my parents for actually coming to visit. and extra special thanks to all of the awesome people in my life. i wouldn't be the same without you.... and i certainly wouldn't have spent an entire sunday working down a mug of cream of wheat and sipping gatroade.

PS
the word of the day is sanctimonious.

just checking

as molly was kind enough to remind me... before we go any further with this blog thing, i need to scold you all about your comment leaving habits. as in, you don't ever leave any comments! what's the deal? i know you're out there. i get a descent number of hits every single day. few comments. extra special thanks to those of you who love me enough to give me some feedback every once in a while. thank you for being patient. our regularly scheduled blog will continue tomorrow. until then, check out a blog that gets so much traffic, she rarely leaves it open for comments or she'll overload her server. here's what happens when dooce opens the gates.

i'm with the band.

that's right, i'm on the LIST! yeah!
so there is this really hot band called girlyman, who i've seen in madison a couple of times in coffee shops. the music is sweet, the vocals are amazing, and the band members are HOT. they're coming back to madison next month, and they have this link on their mailing list asking for people to help spread the word by putting out posters. so i thought what the hell, and i sent an email. today i got a big folder of really nice posters in the mail, along with a sticky note from doris saying that i'm on "the list." how freaking cool is that?! i don't even know what "the list" means, but i hope i get one of those little neck band thingys with a big card that says i'm with the band. maybe they'll let me take them out for drinks after the show. maybe... well, it probably just means i'll get to get in for free. oh well. i'm with the band!

girlyman sings:
friday 5-7, luther's blues with catie curtis, 7pm
thursday 5-13, cafe montmartre with lis harvey, 8pm

is that an easter basket on your head?

happy easter everyone!

how's my day been so far? well, after hitting the bars and staying up till 4:30 this morning, i got called to go to work at 9:30. damn the emergency call list. it is now almost 3pm and i just got home. need food. stat.

special thanks to my parents, who sent me an easter basket in the mail. complete with candy for me, toys for the cat, and a vampire move. rock on.