It's amazing how quickly one can part with a lot of money. If this were a movie and I were electronically stealing money, it would take at least half an hour as I watched the money transfer over to my offshore account one penny at a time, just barely finishing in time for me to make it out with my floppy disc before the bad guys catch up to me (I'm the lead character, so I am obviously good). But in the real world, the computers work like computers and it takes about 5 seconds from swiping the card to signing away the money. And the only thing that's going to catch up to you is your guilt and remorse over making such an impulsive decision even though you've actually been considering it for a year.
So, I bought a new bike. It's the pictured bike, which you may or may not know because I've been trotting out that photo for several months, except that's not mine [the photo is now of my actual bike!]. Because mine is being built. Because delayed gratification builds character. It's a road bike, and will be the first time I've used drop handlebars in 17 years. They're kind of wobbly. [Turns out that having a properly sized frame does wonders to reduce wobbliness.] I'm a little scared to combine that with clipless pedals (which is a stupid name because everybody uses the phrase "clip in/out" anyway). I may actually have a very delayed first pedal-induced fall. There will probably be witnesses involved. There always are.
One of the first things I noticed was how light it is. It turns out that those people I see effortlessly lifting their bike up with two fingers don't actually have abnormal strength. Apparently there are many bikes that do not weigh 40 lbs (perhaps a bit of an exaggeration there, but not much). I look forward to not getting an upper body workout when I have to take my bike up and downstairs.
I'm vacillating between being completely in love with my beautiful shiny new toy and wondering what on earth I've done. It's pretty, though, isn't? ::nods and thinks you should nod too::
Now, don't get me wrong, I won't be up at 4 AM if I have any choice in the matter, but if I have to be up, amid all the grumbling and crankiness, I'm secretly going to be enjoying it. Or maybe not so secretly-- the sniffing at the air with my eyes closed tends to be a bit of a give away.It starts around 3 AM and lasts until a bit after 5 AM. It smells dewy, fresh, placid, and full of promise. Maybe it's the frolicking bunnies that do it; I don't know. It was my favorite part about delivering papers the summer after high school, which is when I first fell in love with the smell of the wee hours of the morning. Of course, it didn't have much competition.
But I had a cool idea for a name. It will probably seem less fantastically awesome at some point, but it fits me right now. I spend my working life seeking steady state and pondering whether such a state actually exists. I think it applies to non-work just as well. Some people are into randomness and chaos, but I find that I would like nothing more than to reach steady state. It's a place of contentment, whether you're a distillation column or a human being.
Yeah, distillation columns can totally be contented. If you saw a grumpy one, you'd believe me.
