Corner of Bourbon & Division

Wait! Before you tell me that I skipped a day, I did it on purpose! The reason for this is that I'm at work (it's a very slow night), and the post for Day 19 will likely require pictures that are on my own computer. So I'm cheating and writing today's entry first.

tx_cronopio wants to know my thoughts on bicycles, which can be summed up thusly: Bicycles are awesome!

Here are the reasons bicyles are awesome:

1- They are fun to ride. It's one of the basic skills you learn as a kid, and there is nothing more fun when you're little than racing around with your friends on your bike. Bicycles are the best way to get around when you're little, in my opinion.

2- They are ecologically friendly. They don't require gas to operate, and thus are one of the greener forms of transport out there, with the advantage of being faster than going anywhere on foot.

3- You can attach trailers to them. If you need to transport groceries or lighter items or a kid, just hook up a trailer to your bike!

4- They are (relatively) inexpensive. After your initial outlay of funds, which can admittedly be expensive depending on what sort of bike you want, a bike will basically cost you nothing to use. Once a year I get a professional to tune up my bike for about $40, but experienced bikers know how to do this themselves. Every so often you might have to spring for new tires, but compared to the monthly cost of owning/leasing and operating a car, the cost is negligible.

In short, bicycles. Inexpensive, versatile, useful in a variety of ways, and also fun!

I have not biked much (or at all) since I moved to my house, but now that I'm moving I plan to dust it off and use it to do my grocery shopping at least during the months when the ground isn't covered in snow. I'll have to get it properly detailed and the tires replaced, but I'm excited at the prospect now. :)


On that note, I need to get back to work. It's been quiet thus far, but it could pick up at any second. Also, I seem to have tweaked my neck in my sleep, and it's been getting progressively worse all night. Time for some ibuprofen, methinks.

Went dancing tonight, thus am in a much better mood. It's very, very hard to stay in a bad mood when you're dancing to country music. 'Tis a fact. Also, getting nice emails from friends is a help.

I am, not unaccountably, quite tired now. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, as long as I don't get to bed too late.

Got a lot of work done today. I've spent the last six days or so (not counting the weekend, obviously) doing a serious filing blitz. I'm nowhere near done, but I have made significant progress. The TMI Manager's filing is pretty much done, praise be to every god. She narrowly escaped death by pen-through-the-pituitary-gland today, after I showed admirable restraint with her.

TMI Manager: "Have you finished my filing yet?"

Me: "No, but it ought to be done by the end of the day." *motions to large stack of filing on desk*

TMI Manager: "Well, when you've finished that, since you'll have nothing else to do, why don't you go see [Admin Assistant], as she has more filing for you."

Me: *pointedly refraining from driving my pen into her pituitary gland* "Well, you know, it's rare that I have nothing else to do. I have the filing for the rest of the department to do too." *motions to GIANT pile of filing on desk next to other large pile* "If [Admin Assistant] has extra filing she needs me to do, then she should give it to me and not hang onto it."

*snarl*

Anyway, the day went by mostly without incident. Boss!Man and Former!Manager both dropped by to pick up their pay stubs and sign some paperwork, and we had a nice visit together. It's amazing how Boss!Man's presence changes the atmosphere in the office: he's loud and boisterous and it made me realize just how quiet things are now that he's gone.

The CAM was in fine fettle today, but luckily she managed only to come in around 3pm, and so I was spared most of the insanity.

Hrm. That reminds me, someone in the office asked for the URL to secret_history, and I link to this LJ in the userinfo there. I should go remove that, lest they read this. Mind you, it's someone other than the TMI Manager and the CAM, and about whom I've never actually spoken before, and I'm not even sure she'll read this, but you never know.


I have two plans forming in my mind these days. One is a cleaning plan. I think I'll be using my day off on Good Friday to start a Massive Spring Cleaning effort in this place. For one, it needs it. For two, I want to do some serious decluttering of Stuff. For three, I've lived here for a year, and yet I don't feel like I've moved in properly. It still feels as though nothing is in its proper place yet, and that annoys me. So step 1 will be cleaning, and step 2 will be finding a home for everything, and getting rid of the stuff for which I can't find a home in here.

The other plan is a bicycling plan. I am going to get my bicycle out of my parents' garage and bring it here. I have it on good authority that the bicycle path along the Lachine canal will take me almost right to work. At least, it'll take me to the Old Port, and from there I can cycle up McGill street, from what I understand. So, if I have time on Saturday afternoon, I shall do a test run and cycle from home to work and back, and see how long it takes me. I'm hoping it won't be more than 45 minutes or so, since it takes me about half an hour by public transit to get to work, and I don't relish the idea of getting up much earlier than I do now if I can help it.

In other words, I'm going to try cycling to work this summer. That means I shall be outside in the sun and fresh air (or the rain and slightly polluted air, as the case may be), and getting exercise, and doing all sorts of good things to promote physical and mental health. Go me!

So, things are okay. They've been better, but they could be a lot worse.