I was going to say "good morning," but it no longer applies

After a very long day yesterday that was preceded by a very short night of sleep, I decided to sleep in a bit today. That went well. :)

So now I'm having a very late breakfast, in the company of my cats, before I start gathering my stuff together in order to take my bike to work again. Of course, I don't feel like moving at all, so that may be problematic. ;)

I finally worked up the nerve to try Resident Evil 4 again on the PS2. I was slightly less of a wuss this time, partly because I now knew what I was getting into. So I made it past the really scary first scene, and wandered around the little house-thing with my heart in my mouth, and then nearly got killed by bandits. Or something. Peasants with scythes. It was a little surreal, since I have no idea why they were there or trying to kill me, save perhaps to be there to make me practice my shooting. As it turned out, they were easier to dispatch with a knife. Go figure, AND I saved on ammo. Go me!

Thanks to toughlovemuse and my experience with DragonQuest VIII, I now know that it is okay for me to go into people's houses and break their stuff in order to get what's inside. There were no NPCs to bump into, so I don't know if I still apologize to them. ;)

I made to the first save point, anyway, and by then my nerves were kind of jangling, so I turned it off again. I get the feeling that this game is going to take a loooong time for me to finish. Maybe I'll get used to it after a while, but for now it's turning out to be highly stressful to play. ("OMG there's got to be a zombie right behind that corner! AUGH!" Ironically, I have yet to run into a zombie.)

That's that. My plans for the rest of the time I'm here include a shower and more coffee. I have to leave in about an hour and fifteen minutes, so I have plenty of time to get stuff done, as long as I don't try my hand at RE4 again.

Oof...

Let's just say that going regularly to the gym and taking my bike to work on alternating days is turning out to be challenging. I made it all the way to work, but there were a couple of moments when it didn't look too good. The spirit was willing, but the legs felt like cooked spaghetti. Also, I was riding into the wind the whole way, which sucked.

Nonetheless, I am here, which makes me a rock star. I think I need to put air in my tires. Tomorrow the bike stays at home, and I hie myself to the gym.

I am looking forward to when this whole process gets easier. In theory, when I get used to the bicycle, it won't be nearly as exhausting a process to get to work. I might even get faster, too. Right now it takes me twenty-five minutes to get to work, but if I can reduce that by five minutes, it would be even better. It's about 5km between home and work, so that means I'm not going all that fast (I could have told you that without measuring, but hey). Wikipedia tells me I am at the low end of average, so maybe by the time I get into really good shape I can average about 3 minutes per km instead of my current 5. Or maybe not. I don't think I'll be overly fussed either way.

Anyway, the trick is perseverance. I kind of slacked off last August when I moved, and I never got back in the saddle, as it were. So now I'm putting all the chances on my side (erm... that's a gallicism... no idea how to say it in real English) and starting early, so that by the time the end of the summer rolls around I'll be breezing around on my bike. I may even be brave enough to keep cycling into winter. We shall see.

So that's today's bicycle news. :)