S is for Speed, Sweat and Safety

National Bike Month is coming up! Bike To Work day is May 20th! Are you ready?

Does your city have
one of these? If so, you're
golden.

I'm going to suppose that at least a couple of you said "no", because otherwise this post is going to be darned short. I want to briefly address three major concerns that beginning cycling commuters have, in the hopes that it will make your road a bit less bumpy. (Hee hee hee.)

1. Speed: "Won't riding my bike take a long time?"
The easy answer is "maybe." It depends on the length of your commute, the traffic, the speed limit, and how fast you cycle. If you are travelling less than five miles on a congested freeway in traffic that crawls along every morning, then you could conceivably get to work faster on a bike. If you live farther away, don't have to cross large chunks of a city, or drive in light traffic, it may take longer by bicycle. Find a nice, quiet route away from the freeway and try it once on a Saturday. If your city has bike lanes, a greenway, or any exciting stuff like that, you may be in for a great ride to work. And I have to admit: One of my greatest joys in cycling is crossing over the congested motorways in Austin when they are doing their best impression of a parking lot. It makes me feel free.

2. Sweat: "Won't I get to work gross?"
Yes. That is, unless your ride is really short or completely downhill, you'll probably be sweaty when you stop. Before you try it, do some research: Is there a bike shop in your town with resources for commuters? Near your office? Does your office have showers? What can you do for clean-up? I made do at my office for years with a change of clothes, a stick of deodorant, perfume, and a washcloth. (Not in that order.) Many cycling commuters recommend driving to work on Monday with clothes for the week and cycling the rest of the time. You may need to experiment a little and see what works for you-- there will definitely be some virtue in arriving at the office 20 minutes early so you can clean up.

Look at all these happy cyclists!

3. Safety: "Isn't it dangerous?"
I'm no expert, but if you stick to relatively quiet roads and obey the traffic laws, you should be okay. I'm a helmet user myself; not everyone is, so you have to decide that for yourself. Studies have shown that when the numbers of cyclists increase, the number of cyclist accidents decreases-- there's something to the "safety in numbers" thing. Use lights to make yourself visible, be predictable so the traffic around you doesn't freak out, and use your common sense. Given the high number of accidents and fatalities in cars, I'm not certain that you're any safer inside a car than on a bicycle-- but again, a lot of it depends on you paying attention to what's going on around you. Don't expect to take a conference call while on your bicycle. (And you shouldn't be doing that in the car, either.)

There you have it! Su's quick and dirty guide to bicycle commuting. So, have you tried taking a bicycle? Public transportation? Carpooling? How did it work for you?

R is for Reading

And what else would I write about on 'R' day?

I love sharing the story of how I learned to read, so here it is: The Electric Company. With some help from Sesame Street. Yes, I learned how to read from watching public television. It didn't hurt, of course, that my parents kept the house full of books. Reading was my first hobby, and it's one I'll continue until my last day (even if I lose my eyesight-- they have books on CD now, you know!).

So it comes as no surprise to me that the most frequent advice given to would-be writers is to read a lot. And that's advice I'm happy to take, naturally. (Some of my classmates take issue with this advice, I've noticed-- maybe it works for them to write without reading. I couldn't possibly do it, that's certain.) I do read across a fairly wide range of genres, not just my own. Actually (and this is probably a terrible thing to say), I'm not that wild about reading in my own genre. There aren't that many writers in Christian women's literature who can pull it off without being really sappy. (We can't all be Francine Rivers, alas.)

That's not to say that I'm going into this genre hoping to "fix" it. No, my main goal is to produce a book that I would want to read, and never mind what everyone else is doing. If other people want to read what I've written, too, then so much the better. Erica and Christy have a great quote from Toni Morrison in the sidebar of their blog: "If there's a book that you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." A great ambition, methinks.

Do you like reading? Do you remember when you learned to read? Do you have a favourite book that I must read right away or the world will come to an end?

Q is for Quorum

You know, there are a lot of "Q" words that are math-related. That's just bringing me down.

My Webster's says that the third definition of "quorum" is "a select group or company"... much like the group at the Austin Bike Summit last Saturday.

First of all, the day was brilliant. I got to meet a lot of people whose names I had heard, but who I had never seen in person. Plus, the casual networking with other Austin cyclists was also very cool. And since I've only just started volunteering with some cycling advocacy groups, it was also a great opportunity to see what is coming in the future as far as cycling improvements in Austin. For instance: A bike boulevard, bike sharing, in-street bike parking... all sorts of fun stuff.

And there were giveaways! And a lunchtime bike ride! And free food! Free drink, too, but I only partook of the water.Which tasted funny.

One really cool takeaway for the day was the workshop on social marketing-- basically, we talked about ways to portray cycling as normal, instead of aberrant, behaviour. And someone put it very succinctly when he said, "We are the message as well as the messenger, by being on the street." A deep thought for us all, yes?

Do you cycle? Do you attend quorums based around your hobby (whatever that may be)? What do you do with funny-tasting water?

P is for Pop-Tarts

I forgot my lunch today, so I went a bit more collegiate than usual and bought a box of Pop-Tarts. Breakfast of champions. And lunch of champions. And afternoon snack of champions.

I love, love, love Pop-Tarts. But in the interest of remaining a reasonably healthy adult, I try to limit my consumption. Which is a real bummer.

So I was beyond delighted when I went looking for images for this post and ran across this recipe for homemade  pop-tarts. I did a happy dance. My life of making things keeps getting better.

What's your favourite Pop-Tarts flavour? How many ways can you think of that they will send me to an early grave? Or, what flavour of homemade pop-tarts should I make first?

O is for Omniscient

As in, the third-person omniscient narrative. Because as in life, the more I research writing, the more I find out that I know jack squat. (Sorry for the cliché. My originality-o-meter is broken.)

Now if I could tell you what the bear
is thinking, then I would be
omniscient.

What I've always thought of as third-person omniscient, it turns out, is actually third-person multiple. Or so says my friend Wikipedia. Kinda. Because the more I read, the more I think "what the heck?" about points of view.

So, here goes. I write almost exclusively in third person limited. First person only works for me sometimes. And I might just tear out my hair if I have to remember what every single person is thinking all the time, so I'm not wild about being omniscient, although I can see where it might have some uses.

Never mind. I'm going to go write something now, and see what point of view comes out. This should be interesting.

What can you tell me about point of view?

Resting is Underrated

Did you learn about the Blue Laws in school? The ones that kept shops from opening or people from working on a Sunday, until about the mid-1900s? Some days I'm glad they're gone. Other days I think it might be nice to have them back.

Either way, I'm doing homework today. Lots of homework. Because since I spent the entire day yesterday at the Austin Bike Summit (which was totally worth it, BTW; it was brilliant), I got no essay-writing or other studying done.

So! A short post today to exhort someone to take the day off, since I am not doing so. Enjoy your free day on me.

How do you spend your Sundays?

N is for Never

There's a reason why "never say never" is such a common expression. I can think of no better way to ensure that something will happen than to say, "I'll never (insert undesirable behaviour here)". So in the past few years, I've changed to saying, "Honey, please stop me if I ever do that." And he is overly-eager to agree.

It's remarkable how easy it is to say "I'll never". It's scary how it's even easier to forget the "I'll never"s when faced with the same situation. I remember when I would never be a runner... and never run a marathon... and never neglect my running for other things... and never buy fancy clothes just for running. Hee hee hee, joke's on me.

Of course, this applies to more serious things, too. Someone is bound to say it, so I'll just get it out of the way: Especially when you have kids. And even though I don't, I've seen enough friends make the transition to know that it's true.

Right now, for instance, I never want to have a car again. But I can go from "never" to "maybe" to "okay, then" in a hurry. So I'm reserving judgement, despite me really really enjoying my bike right now. And doing research on bike trailers for kids. Who knows what the future may bring for us? (FYI: this is not a twisted way of announcing that I'm pregnant. I'm just planning ahead.)

In the meantime, I'm never going to be a millionaire. And I defy the Fates to prove me wrong.

What do you do that you would "never" do? Or, what is your current "never"?

M is for Memories (or, More Non-Trad Travails)

Okay, I admit it, this isn't a travail. But whenever the conversation turns to childhood television shows, I always feel a bit left out. Apparently there was a complete turnover between the early 80s and early 90s in children's TV (apart from Sesame Street, of course).

After spending a few days trying desperately to find someone else who remembers Square One, I finally struck gold-- by asking another non-trad. Professional Smart Aleck (she said it, not me, and she approved!) not only remembers Square One, but much like myself, she also loved Kate Monday. When they replaced Kate Monday with Pat Tuesday, I was completely heartbroken... only to find out that I like Pat Tuesday just as much. When I shared this experience with PSA, she agreed, adding "Kate Monday was my hero." Yeah. I think Square One was the beginning of all my friends being at least 10 years older than myself.

And then the conversation swung round from Square One to Electric Company (the original one, not the new one). I think I've mentioned before that Morgan Freeman taught me how to read, and finally, I found someone else with the same experience. The regular, 90s-baby students around us tried to make relevant comments by talking about Morgan Freeman's other work, but of course they don't remember the original Electric Company, and they're too old to have enjoyed the newer version. It's rough to be a member of the Millennial Generation.

What's your favourite childhood TV show (or movie-- don't want to exclude anyone here)? Do you have a friendly person to discuss it with when the mood strikes?

L is for Last Minute

I had this great, profound blog post planned for today... but haven't been near a computer until now. So, this is all you get.

I don't usually intend to wait until the last minute, but sometimes it happens. With appointments, with the bus, with getting to class, with leaving for work... from time to time, the last minute is just more appealing than the first minute. (With my taxes, too. That's on the to-do list for the weekend, in the interest of avoiding arrest.)

And in my writing, that gets to be frustrating if I practise it too much. The day rolls by, full of this and that and the other thing, with errands and work and family dinners and laundry, and then here comes the last minute on the horizon. So I race to my computer, trying to beat the last minute to the finish line and get a decent word count for the day. Sometimes I win. Most times I don't.

Methinks it's time to embrace the first minute.

What about you? Do you like the last minute? Or are you at least resigned to it?

K is for Kickstand

Okay, this story is actually kickstand-free, but I couldn't think of another bike-related "K" word.

For today's version of Without a Car Wednesday, I'm guest blogging at Austin on Two Wheels. Here's a peek; click the link to read the whole thing. Enjoy!

I got some confirmation that cycling instead of taking the bus had been my best decision—there was a striping truck, painting the outer line of the bike lane on Manor Road. And behind the slow-moving truck was a line of traffic, all unable to pass because they were going uphill. Finally, one of those opportunities I dream about: I didn’t exactly zoom past the traffic, but even though I was crawling uphill, I still crawled faster than the truck. I passed them all and reached the next stoplight feeling inordinately pleased with myself.

Story continues here...

J is for June

Source.

Every now and then I remark that June is my favourite month. But I've realised in the past couple of weeks that actually, that's not true any longer. My favourite month for the past few years has been April.

"April?" I know you are all asking. "What's so special about April?" It's quite simple, really; April in Texas = June in Indiana. Hence the reason for my small shift in loyalties.

In Indiana, June mornings are fresh, sometimes still a bit chilly as summer is still getting geared up. The days are the longest of the year. And-- best of all when I was a kid-- it's the first half of summer vacation. There's nothing better than the first half of vacation, right?

In Texas, April mornings are fresh, sometimes still a bit chilly as spring is still getting geared up. The evenings are longer, thanks to the recent shift to Daylight time. And-- best of all now that I'm an adult-- summer vacations are no more, so I don't spend a lot of mental energy waiting for them. I've learned to enjoy (or not) each day as it comes.

So, June in Indiana, I loved you so. Don't worry; I'll still come to visit from time to time. In the meantime, my friend April in Texas and I are having a great time.

Which is your favourite month?

I is for Ideas

...partly because I had so many ideas for this post. Inspiration? Invention? Irresponsible? Idiot? (I started making a list of potential idiots to showcase, then remembered that's not really in the spirit of friendship and camaraderie that I'm so fond of.)

So. Ideas. On a college campus, they are more plentiful than candy wrappers (and that's saying something!). They grow, they change, they collide. Sometimes they are strong enough to inspire students to stand in the hot sun and hand out literature or shout their support for ideas. Sometimes they are just discussed with roommates with the aid of late-night Red Bull. (For the record: My roommate does not allow me to have Red Bull. He only allows me to have caffeinated tea before noon, and even that is under protest.) Sometimes they bloom in the most unlikely of places.

Ideas are part of the reason that my blog schedule is so convoluted and why I can't seem to keep focused on any one thing-- there is such a spectrum of ideas in my head, all bumping and colliding and creating sparks to start whole new ideas that I need an orderly place for them to queue up and come flying out in turn. I was reading a recap of a The West Wing episode on Television Without Pity yesterday (it was research for a class, honest!), and the recapper shared a bit in which Toby insists to Charlie that he is writing, to which Charlie replies, "I don't see any paper." The recapper then went off on a tangent about how she's always writing something, with or without the aid of writing implements, sometimes even while physically writing something else. I agree. And so does Toby: "Paper is for wimps." Hee hee hee.

What do you do with your ideas? Or when do you find that ideas turn up?

Why Can't We Be Friends?

This doesn't really have anything to
do with the post. But, you know,
it was all green and stuff, so it kind
of fit.

I just finished reading Better Off, by Eric Brende. It's the story of he and his wife spending 18 months in an Amish-like community that eschews motorized things and pretty much any technology beyond the bare minimum. It's a lovely read, which I do recommend if you're looking for a nice memoir.

One obstacle that the Brendes encountered was lack of a common faith; he and his wife are Catholic, but the community they were a part of are Protestant Anabaptists. Eric writes about various steps they made to reconcile the different faiths of themselves and their neighbours, including visiting the local church and having conversations about scripture.

A conclusion he reached over and over again was that the more he got to know his neighbours, the less it mattered to him that they didn't share a common faith. They still had their conversations, his friends still used scripture fluently in conversation, but their differences didn't stop them from being friends.

In the midst of a nation that is conflicted over every little thing that makes us different from one another, I find this perspective refreshing. What would it be like, I wonder, if we decided that what unites us really is stronger than what divides us? On every level, not just our religion? What would that look like?

So, there's my utopian fantasy of the day. What's yours?

H is for Happiness

Happiness is having a sister.
Happiness is also having a brother,
but there aren't any cute songs about
that. 

There's a book that's been on my to-read list for so long now that it's pathetic, but other books keep pressing their existence upon me and then I forget just how long I've wanted to read this one.

And that book is The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Ruben. From reading a few reviews, I have a vague idea of what it's about, but rather than try to explain it badly or do more research and then end up hopelessly distracted from writing, let me just encourage you to go to the website if you want to know more.

I was thinking this morning about things that make me happy. And most of them are really simple, really goofy things: Today, I was happy about my Popsicle molds that I filled with Gatorade & stuck in the freezer in anticipation of us coming home hot & tired after a long bike ride. (Both of which happened, of course, and we enjoyed the Gatorade pops very much, thank you.) And then I gathered all my stuff and set out, and I was happy to be out riding my bicycle on such a nice morning. And as snags came up in my day, I was happy each time a solution presented itself.

It really doesn't take much to make me happy. I'm happy to see Chad at any hour of the day, happy to go to class, happy to do homework (usually), happy to finish homework, happy to blog, happy to read, happy to use my washing machine & to hang up clean clothes afterwards, happy to make tea and toast, even happier when it's time for a second round. I'm happy to go to bed and generally happy to get up again.

I don't know if I'm weird, or have low expectations of life, but it turns out that happiness is not to far to seek for me (although I generally claim to be cranky, just to keep my life amusing). So whatever quirk it is that gives me such perpetual happiness, I'll take it.

What makes you happy?

G is for Gaffe

I rarely take a picture and afterwards
think, 'Hey, that's exactly what it
looked like!' But this is exactly what
it looked like.

So the bicycle and I were on the train the other day, as is our wont on days when we've been working hard at Bike Texas and want an easy ride home (taking the train removes most of the hills from my cycling route). I really enjoy the train for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is watching the scenery go by. Stuff around train tracks is off the beaten path, as it were, so you see a lot of graffiti or back lots or just slices of life that you wouldn't normally see while driving by. I love it.

The train in Austin starts out downtown, heads east for a little way, then swings around to the north, which means that it crosses some streets at an odd angle. Which further means that the signal gates are set pretty far back from the tracks on either side just to cut across the angle safely. Far enough back, in fact, for a car to fit between the tracks and the gate...

Yes, that's what I saw. I don't know if the car just got caught when the gates started coming down (because as I said, there is quite some distance between them; it's totally conceivable that someone might get caught), or if the driver was unwisely sitting on the tracks and didn't get off of them quickly enough, or if he didn't want the gate hitting the top of the car so he stopped behind it. Whatever it was, the nose of the car was right up against the gate (as you would be, if there were a train coming!), and fortunately the train had plenty of clearance, so the car was in no danger. I'm just sad that my camera was put away for the whole thing.

I don't know what the driver did once the gate raised and he was free to continue. He probably went home with this wacky story to tell. I do know if it had been me caught between a signal gate and a train, I would have had to pull over at the nearest open spot and have a lie down before continuing (fortuitously, there is a park very near this particular area). And then I'd have to get up and walk around a bit, thanking God that I was still alive and in one piece. And then I would finish my drive home, carefully avoiding all train tracks.

That's what I would have to do. What would you do?

F is for First Drafts

You'll have to just draw a picture in your mind today, because I'm on the wrong computer and don't have my usual access to the wonders of free photography.

First drafts! I've written a lot of them in my lifetime. I've written many, many more first drafts than final drafts, and even turned in some first drafts as final drafts in my time (hey, I was in primary school; I didn't know that revision even existed back then!). For years I had this lovely lovely idea that Laura Wilder or Beverly Cleary wrote in exactly the same way I did-- start to finish, with everything "perfect" the first time.

Then I went to middle school and was disabused of such ideas. And now that I'm in contact with other writers all the time, any chance of such fantasies ever returning is blessedly nil.

But first drafts are fun, though. (Term used loosely; I do prefer revision.) Ideas flow from brain to page, unencumbered by such things as continuity. The muse, when she is cooperating, is hard at work. Words obediently line up into sentences that will later send me facepalming as I wonder what exactly I meant when I wrote "Greasy fingers aren't guitar strings". Vast quantities of caffeine are consumed, bedtimes are ignored, showers are optional, friends give up at attempting reasonable conversation.

It's wonderful. And then you can shove the whole thing in a drawer and not worry about it for a couple of months.

Is writing a first draft (of anything; doesn't have to be a novel) exhilarating for you? Or do you prefer revision? Editing? Share your writing preferences here.

E is for Easygoing

They say you don't get road rage when you're walking. This tracks with my own experience, actually. I also don't get road rage when I'm cycling: not much, anyway. Or when sitting on the bus. So if road rage is getting you down, you might need to leave the car behind from time to time.

And that's the extent of my car-free message for today. You know what else I'm easygoing about? Homework. Writing. Running. Pretty much everything, actually. Which is only problematic when I want to get something done. Like, for example, the five papers I have due in the next four weeks. Or editing my NaNo novel by the end of May. Poor Word document hasn't see the light of day in weeks.

So, what do you do when your life is a bit too on the easygoing side?

D is for Delivery

Yes, I'm temporarily renaming In My Mailbox for the A to Z Challenge. These are some books I've received, in the mail and in person, in the past month or so. Unfortunately, I haven't begun any of them, in a attempt to be a good steward of my time and my opportunities at university. So, some books I hope to get round to reading soon:

I won this book in a giveaway on Faith's blog. This was one of those nice
surprises that I had forgotten about until the day it arrived!

Another giveaway winner-- this time it was Sarah's blog.
And since Sarah and I live in the same city, no mailing was
required-- we had brunch together instead. :)

This rather-abused book came to us in a huge box of books
that someone gave us. I've never read Agatha Christie
(shame, I know), so I'm looking forward to it!

And this one I actually purchased. I'm afraid to start reading it
because everyone has been raving about it-- no homework will
get done while I'm reading it straight through, I can assure you!

What's in your mailbox?

C is for Causes

One cause in particular, actually: Tomorrow, April 5th, is One Day Without Shoes.

A lot of "raising awareness" campaigns tend to disintegrate into empty gestures over the years (or just start out that way-- posting your bra colour on Facebook, anyone?). I hope this one doesn't. The point, as stated on the website, is for people to notice that you're barefoot... but when someone's curiosity is piqued, you don't wander off or smile knowingly. You engage in conversation about the millions of children worldwide who go without shoes every day, and how this day is meant to not only bring attention to the problem (I really do hate the phrase "raise awareness"), but also to move people to action.

"What can I do, then?"-- I hear you cry. First, as your lifestyle allows, go without shoes tomorrow. I'm planning to carry my one & only pair of flip-flops to put on when I board the bus (because you can't ride the bus barefoot), and also to put on when I'm inside campus buildings, if asked. (But only after I'm asked!) Otherwise, everywhere else I go tomorrow, I'll be barefoot. So... could you walk from your car to your office barefoot? To the park with your kids? Into a PTA meeting? Where can you imagine your bare feet striking up a conversation? And just remember, ladies: This is a great chance to show off those perfectly polished toenails.

Second: Go to the site and choose your favourite banner. Make it your picture on Twitter/Facebook/Friend Connect/Etc. for a day or two.

Third: TOMS brand already donates a pair of shoes to children in need for every pair that is purchased, all year round. So if you're in the market for a new pair of shoes, consider looking there first. They also have various other apparel available.

Finally, don't forget that no action is too small. If this isn't your preferred cause, that's totally cool. Find a cause that you can get behind. I'm a firm believer in the principle that "From those who have been given much, much will be expected." I've been given much, much more than I need, and a few hours barefoot in the hopes of getting some attention is the least I can do.

Will you be going barefoot tomorrow? If not, do you have a cause you want us all to know about? Let's hear it!

Sweet Fellowship

If you aren't familiar with the Acappella album by the same name... well, that's a bummer for you. Here's what it looks like:

Source.

Singers.com says it was recorded in 1988. To which I can only say, "Yeah, okay." It's not like I was keeping track back then. I'm not sure that I knew Acappella existed until 1990.

So! The A to Z Challenge takes Sundays off (one A to Z blogger-- can't remember who-- says it's for good behaviour), so we're back to my regular nonsense instead of alphabetical nonsense. And while I'd love to make this post all about Acappella and my personal history with their very inspiring music... it's not. Because today at church we're having a potluck. And so I'm going to pull a page from JEFritz's blog, as it were, and talk about words-- minus the informative and careful research that she does.

The church I grew up in called fellowship meal "pitch-ins", because everybody pitches in something. Then I moved south and found out that down here, the same event is called a potluck. While this sounds slightly less messy, my cheeky self also finds it a bit worrying: Potluck? Why is luck required, exactly? What are they putting in their food? At least they don't all stand at the door and chuck it into the room, which was the image I had in my head for years as a kid (okay, it's still there, I admit it!). But I feel like I need to buy a lottery ticket to get into a potluck.

Then there are the churches that avoid all the confusion and snark altogether by calling it a "fellowship meal". Booooriiiing. There's just not enough to make fun of there to keep me interested.

Which would you rather go to-- a pitch-in or a potluck? And more importantly... what should I take?

B is for Bills

This is one of those words that means different things in different countries, so just to clarify: I'm talking about the notices your various creditors or utilities or whoever send you to request payment for services.

So! Today's green-living tip is really obvious, but it's one of those that is so easy to do that it's also easy to forget. Go paperless! Pull out last month's bill from whoever and look for the website: most places now have an option to receive your bills via email, so that no printing and mailing is required. Your bank probably also has a spot for you to receive your monthly statements online and a place to pay your bills, so no check-writing or trips to the post office are necessary. This simple action saves paper, saves postage, and saves you from suffocating under a pile of notices in your living room (okay, that might be just me).

And (for my writing friends) it saves visual clutter and frees up your brain for reams of creativity to come flowing out.

As for me: When we made our last move, I was determined to go paperless. But it's taken until this week for me to finally remember to contact ALL my companies and request e-notices only. But I have to admit, I'm ridiculously happy to have fewer things arriving in my mailbox. Next project: Stopping the stores from sending me circulars.

Are you paper-free? Do you work for the post office? Can you call my local supermarket and ask them to stop sending me dead trees?

A is for Atrocity

Yep, we're going to kick this blogfest off on a real happy note. May as well get off on the right foot, yes?

I spent my Wednesday evening volunteering for the White Rose Society at UT, a branch of Texas Hillel. While I'm not a member of either organization, they sent out a call for volunteers to get white roses ready for distribution on Thursday (to coincide with the the Holocaust Day of Remembrance), so I went. We dethorned each rose, then attached a flier explaining...

A sea of flowers. Source.

That each rose represented one of the 10,000 people killed in a single day at Auschwitz. And as I worked, I reflected: Each flower is a life taken. There are 50,000 students at UT: In five days, we'd all be gone. Add in the faculty, staff, maintenance workers, cafeteria staff, etc, and you'd still be looking at a completely empty campus in less than six days' time. And yet somehow there were always more people to take the place of those who had been murdered at Auschwitz.

And these students, the members of Texas Hillel, are just as Jewish as those who were killed. I can't imagine being caught at the beginning of an anti-Semitic frenzy, as a college student in the 30s in Europe, seeing my classmates taken. For my classmates they are: I saw a number of people I know at the event Wednesday. Would I have protested their treatment and (possibly) have died with them? Would I have hidden my friends from the authorities? I know what I want the answers to those questions to be, as I sit here comfortably in my persecution-free land; if put to the test, I hope I would make the right decision. More importantly, I pray that no test like that ever comes up again.

Yes, I went to bed depressed Wednesday at the visual I had just seen. There's a lovely statement on the Texas Hillel website: "Genocide is not just a Jewish issue, but a human issue." And so it is.

I promise to be back to happy topics soon, but I couldn't not share this experience. And I have no particular question to ask you today, so you're on your own with comments.

Grace and peace (Shalom) be with you on this Friday.

The Alphabet Does Come in Handy

Tomorrow I, along with many other bloggers all over the place, will begin the A-Z challenge. So tomorrow, when you see all your usual blogs have posts beginning with "A", just remember: Yes, it's a conspiracy. And possibly an April Fools' Joke, but only in the broadest sense.

And in case you'd still like to join in: Click here, where you'll read this:

           The premise of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is to post something on your blog every day in April except for Sundays.  In doing this you will have 26 blog posts--one for each letter of the alphabet.   Each day you will theme your post according to a letter of the alphabet.
              You will only be limited by your own imagination in this challenge.  There is an unlimited universe of possibilities.  You can post essays, short pieces of fiction, poetry, recipes, travel sketches, or anything else you would like to write about.  You don't have to be a writer to do this.  You can post photos, including samples of your own art or craftwork.    Everyone who blogs can post from A to Z.

This picture has nothing
to do with the A-Z
challenge. I just like
greenery.

And you can sign up while you're at it. Come join it! It will be fun! And practically painless!

In completely unrelated news, my original blog giveaway winner has declined her prize. So, the new winner is... Rachel Morgan!

Are you participating in the A-Z challenge? Do you have a suggestion as to what I should blog for any of the letters (because, as is my wont, I've not bothered preparing for it)? Are you Rachel Morgan?

Living Urban

This is what my bike looks like when
I'm not riding it. Except this is an old
pic; the bike now has nice panniers
on the back instead of just a rack.

In case you missed it, I'm a cyclist. Not in the same way that I'm a runner-- I don't enter cycling races or have a training plan-- but I do cycle all over Austin with my shiny, trusty bike. All over some of Austin, anyway.

So I was kind of excited when Austin on Two Wheels announced their spring Urban Living Ride series, for what is at least the second year running (I haven't inquired into the history, but I know they did it last year). I don't know how many of them we'll end up doing, but I do know that it is with great regret that I missed last week's Cupcake Ride. Cupcakes! And cycling! Together!

A couple of weeks ago, I won a pair of tickets on Twitter (yay for Tweeting!) for the ride to Boggy Creek Farm here in town: an organic, working farm, complete with a Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings (although by the time we got there, the pickins were slim indeed-- one must arrive early to get the good stuff!).

Anyway! We did some shopping, got a tour, and then had a lovely lovely meal of food from the farm. I can't remember everything we had, but my main course was Mushroom-Barley Risotto that was absolutely delicious. Chad had some sort of pan-seared dead animal; I had a nibble but didn't like it. His roast potatoes, on the other hand, were fabulous and I had to be restrained from eating them all off of his plate. And dessert was a strawberry shortcake, for which I would be willing to ride much further than we did, methinks. The food was brilliant, and to top off, the ride organizers were our servers. It was a very pleasant picnic.

Plus, we met some really fun new people, which was kind of the point. Well, one of the points. The other point is for people to see how easy it really is to get places in Austin on a bike. One of those fun new people also wrote about the tour (much more poetically than myself) on the Austin on Two Wheels site, if you want to read more about it. And the really happy outcome of the day (for me) is that Chad has finally decided to get a bike so we can go places together. Woohoo!

What's a fun place you would ride to on a bike?

A Routine Life

For all the fun things I do and the interesting stuff that happens to me, my life is fairly routine. I go to class, I do homework, I clean my house, I cook dinner. I buy groceries and go to meetings. I commute, although my transportation may look different from yours. I blog and Tweet and giggle at the ranting my friends do on Facebook (and try to keep my own ranting to a minimum). I read. I write. And while there is frequently no rhyme nor reason to the pattern of my days, I still do the same stuff as everyone else. And I enjoy my calm, routine life.

Somehow, 'routine' lives have gotten to be associated with 'boring', whereas an 'interesting' life tends to be one spent either doing adventurous things (skydiving) or regular partying. And while I'm not averse to adventures that do not involve jumping out of airplanes, I do have a problem with someone who can't remember what he/she did last night disparaging my hobbies because they can only be done while sweating or sitting. (Or both, if I haven't turned on the A/C on a hot day.)

Jesus' life was not routine. Oh, he slept and ate, as he had time, but his life was invested in people, and people can be remarkably unpredictable. So if I am going to make my life less routine and more adventurous, less boring and more exciting, that's the way I want to do it. To invest myself in loving those around me. To be an encourager to all I see. To do what I can to ease the suffering of others, even if all I have to offer is a smile and a kind word.

That is an adventure worth living. That's a routine worth being in. And no chemical alteration of my brain pattern is required.

What adventure would you like to be living?

Earth Hour

Not to be confused with Earth Day, which comes to us on April 22nd: today we have Earth Hour. It happens at 8:30 PM local time, so it's kind of a rolling thing around the world. Like New Year.

What is it? Well, a few years ago, some folks in Sydney turned off their lights & other electric stuff "to take a stand against climate change". Five years later, it's gone global and for some has become a family tradition-- they turn the lights off, light some candles, and play games or whatnot for an hour. Which I think is brilliant.

I've ranted and muttered against Earth Hour in the past, but I've mostly come round. I still have a hard time seeing past the downside: that people might feel they've done their part and will spend the rest of the year not considering the impact of their actions. I think Earth Hour is great, but please don't stop at 9:30 and think that's all there is to it!

But my real gripe, if you will, is with businesses. So many businesses make a big production out of shutting their lights off for an hour today, when I must admit I'd be more impressed if they'd commit to shutting off the lights for an hour every day. Or two hours, or four. I always think of that scene in the movie That Thing You Do when the main character (Guy) is always forgetting to turn off the neon lights on the front of his father's store at the close of business, much to his father's annoyance. What a change from 1964 to today, when not only the neon, but also the indoor lights, are on 24/7 in most shops. (I understand the need for the indoor lights-- security cameras and all that-- but the neon signs? Give them a break!)

The TV networks are the worst, though. They'll often have a special broadcast for Earth Hour, including a few brief minutes when they shut off the lights in the studio, only to turn them back on after the commercial break to finish the broadcast. Doesn't having the broadcast send the wrong message? I mean, mightn't people decide to turn off the lights but leave on the TV to see what Brian Williams or Diane Sawyer have to say about the importance of turning off the lights? Don't get me wrong, I first heard about Earth Hour in 2008 because of a segment on the news-- but does it have to be during the actual time frame? I'd love to see a TV station who is brave enough to forgo programming during Earth Hour and instead truly turns off the lights and runs a test pattern with an Earth Hour PSA on it. That network would have my loyal viewing for life, I can assure you.

So! All that to say: Earth Hour. Tonight. 8:30. What will you do with your light-free hour?

Gave Away, and some Semicolons

My slightly nutty giveaway has come to a close, and random.org chose the winner. And since you are all dying to know who it is, I give you:

#44! Who, in real names (real blog names, that is), is generally known as The Golden Eagle. Is she here? If you would step forward and claim your prize... just kidding, being present is not a requirement to win. I'll scoot by her blog directly to let her know, and urge you to do the same (minus the letting her know part), because she is brilliant. So, the Eagle wins the prize pack (and it's already packed, and I don't remember what's in there, so we'll all be surprised when she gets it) and a guest post at Cheekyness if she is so inclined.

As a runner-up, who I also invite to guest post and will send a postcard to: JEFritz, by virtue of having the most entries. And if you don't read her blog already, you are likewise missing out on greatness. Head on over after you finish reading here. :)


Also this week, besides running giveaways and being happy about being back in class after spring break (yes, I'm strange), I've re-read Eats, Shoots & Leaves, which is a delightful punctuation book by Lynne Truss. And if you haven't read it, please do rush out to your local library (bookstore, Amazon, whatever) to get your hands on it. It's brilliant. And while it's hard for me to choose a favourite bit, I'll have to settle on the page about semicolon addiction: "Many writers hooked on semicolons become an embarrassment to their families and friends. Their agents gently remind them, 'George Orwell managed without, you know.' [...] But the writers rock back and forth on their office chairs, softly tapping the semicolon key and emitting low whimpers." Alas, 'tis true.

My rhetoric instructor from last summer (good grief, I have got to get that woman a nickname) wrote on one of my papers, "You are a bit addicted to semicolons. Perhaps you should look up the colon and try one from time to time." And that would stand as my favourite comment from an instructor, ever, if I had not gotten this one from Red Ball last semester (that had nothing to do with semicolons): "While you don't have to have topic sentences in every paragraph, it's nice to have one from time to time." Guilty. To both.

After the jump: My latest run-in with Skinny Jeans, mostly for my own amusement. Just skip it if you aren't interested in this continuing saga. Today's question (in bold since it's sandwiched): Which is your favourite punctuation mark?

Research

So, today's writing post is not so much about what I think or do or how I write or any of the usual writery post stuff. It's not even about the crusader challenge, which I considered but elected to skip because I couldn't get my head round it. And it's not like I write good challenge posts, anyway.

No, today's blog is like a little episode of Jeopardy!, which is to say I'll be stating my thesis in the form of a question: Where do you go for research?

Do you have to actually leave your house and go experience the things your characters are doing? Or do you call on our friend Google? Or are you old-school and reach for, of all things, a print book of some sort?

I used to read school stories, draw on my own school experience, and then just making things up from there to write a school story. Or my kid version of "historical fiction" was pretty much entirely things I made up with a few tidbits of Little House thrown in for good measure, regardless of what time period my story was in. (I wrote a story set in ancient Egypt once, for a school assignment. The kid in the story rode a raft through the canals & then down mini-canals that branched off to check on crops, because in my head it just made sense that a canal system would work that way. My teacher was completely bewildered at where I got this information and wasn't satisfied with my telling her, "I made it up!")

But now, that doesn't really work. For my NaNo novel, I've done a lot of research into Austin-y stuff, since that's were the novel is set; my biggest problem there is deciding how much to include in the novel. But I'm still clueless about how Natasha's boyfriend acts-- what do musicians do when they aren't playing? How do gigs at restaurants work? Or at coffee shops? And since I'm like an old person when it comes to loud music, my opportunities for live research are kind of limited. But perhaps I should just endure it and go see a concert or two, in the interest of getting it right in the novel.

So I ask again: How do you research what you write? Do you have to do things in person, or can you virtually learn stuff? What is my logical first step in learning about musicians?

Friday, Part 2

I have to dream that the stations in
Austin look like this. Maybe
someday...

Last week, I had a bit of a misadventure on the train. Once I got back downtown, it was getting dark, and the crowds gathering for South by Southwest were plenty thick throughout downtown. We had found out the previous evening that the buses through downtown were about as fast as walking because of the traffic and masses of pedestrians. Plus, there was lots of energy in the air just because of all the people, the festival atmosphere, and so on, so I decided to ride the bike as far as campus, and get the bus there.

Unfortunately, even though I managed to avoid the headache of taking the main thoroughfare, the buses did not, so I still had to wait. One bus went by that I could have taken to meet Chad (I didn't remember this until the bus had already been gone for about five minutes), but I had the choice of two that were meant to come within 15 minutes. Great.

Except they didn't come.

At least, not on time. The first bus was running 25 minutes late; the second one was behind by 15 minutes (or so said the driver). And as if that weren't enough, the first bus had a bike in both slots on the rack, meaning I was unable to board. So I sat back down to wait for the next one, which-- I bet you can guess it-- also had a full bike rack. Sigh. I was about to give it up for a bad job, when a passenger got off and removed his bike. I refrained from doing a dance of joy, because I had to load up my bike and get on.

That's about the end of the adventure-- I got off at my stop, had about a five-minute ride to meet Chad (about 45 minutes late, but at least I got there), and that was the end of it.

Kinda.

He was going to play basketball after Toastmasters, but I was tired and also was unsure about whether we'd meet up with a friend who would be able to haul the bike back home after basketball, so I declined to join him and was going to take the bus home instead. Someone at Toastmasters offered me a lift, so we were both all set, and I headed home-- to find out at my door that I was locked out. Yep, I had taken my key off the ring when I went running earlier in the day and forgot to put it back on. And the after-hours officer wasn't answering the phone. So I pulled out a book and sat on the front step waiting for Chad to get home after basketball. I probably won't be making that mistake again any time soon.

That last bit doesn't have anything to do with my public transport adventures, of course. So, best-laid plans? Or best-laid pantsing? Share yours in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday #8

*See more discussion below*

How to Live Well Without Owning a Car: Save Money, Breather Easier, and Get More Mileage out of Life, Chris Balish

"Wouldn't it be great if someone invented a form of personal transportation that:

• Is practically free
• Is immediately available on demand
• Doesn't require any licensing, taxes, stickers, or fees
• Could travel faster than cars stuck in traffic
• Doesn't pollute the environment
• Helps us get exercise while we're using it
• Doesn't make us pay for parking
• Doesn't force us to pay high gas prices
• Helps boost our self-confidence
• Improves our outlook on life

Gosh, that would be great. Now go buy a bicycle."

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

*Promised discussion:

So I'm still on a documentary-esque kick. Not sure how that happened. BUT, as regular readers know, I'm already living well without owning a car, so I mostly checked this out just to see what he says about it. It's a little outdated in its information (it was published in 2006), but otherwise is a cool thing to read if you're thinking about cutting back on your car use but don't know how to go about it.


The teaser is longer than usual because I loved that section. Also because it's not like this book has a plot for me to ruin; it's informational.

And the illustrations are priceless. Well worth reading the thing just to giggle at the pictures. Even the car lovers among us can appreciate the irony!

Plot Holes, Creativity, and Planets

My Creative Problem Solving class, about which I have spent much time and energy whining and complaining, has finally arrived at some interesting material. About danged time.

That's a bit unfair; the first week or so was also interesting. And then we hit a dry spell, which has only just come back around. I've really enjoyed the past two weeks' readings and discussions. We read a chapter from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Creativity, and now a chapter from Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind. This is actually our second chapter from Pink (the first one--you guessed it--was the first week), and I think I may have to read the entire book. Especially since I just found out that he's a Goodreads author. Excellent.

Anyway, Pink writes about not only seeing the big picture, but also about looking at the relationship among the parts of the picture. He uses the metaphor of drawing his face-- when he began his drawing class, he didn't know about the importance of considering the distance between his eyes & the top of his head, or the size of his eyes, or the spacing of other features-- that's something he learned along the way.

As a writer, I feel like I've been smacked on the head. Again. It's such an obvious statement-- that one MUST consider the relationship between the parts-- that I might have missed it. There's a plot hole in my current WIP's plot big enough to drive a bus through. A double-decker bus, packed with tourists. Two of them. Anyway, Natasha's (my MC) life has to fall apart at the seams to convince her to do something besides coast through her existence, and one of those things is her best friend moving far away. Except the best friend has no good reason to move away.

So, relationship between the parts... If the best friend moves away, she will be leaving her family, friends, job, grad school, boyfriend, hometown... in other words, why would she go? It makes more sense for Natasha's boyfriend to move away. Or for Natasha's mother to plead for her to come home. Or for Natasha and her best friend to have a massive fight. Or... well, lots of things. Anything, basically, except that ugly plot hole that is currently threatening to swallow Pluto (the planet (okay, dwarf planet), not the dog) whole.

And once I get that figured out, I can look at the relationship between all the other parts to find other places where the fabric of my MS has run thin. Whaddya know, Creative Problem Solving has turned out to be worthwhile after all.

So... Plot holes? Useless classes that turned out to be useful? Pluto's status as a planet or not? Authors with 16 letters in their last name? Lots of comments to choose from today. Let's hear it!

I Can't Get Out!

Sunday is meant to be for devotional-type thoughts. And I'm trying, really I am, but I'm afraid I'm not feeling too charitable today. Why? Because I'm locked into my apartment complex.

Sometime between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, our apartment management fixed the lock on our pedestrian gate. Which is all well and good, except they didn't tell us they were planning this. No big deal for people coming in-- we all have cards to operate the big gate for vehicles, after all-- but going out is another story. The big gate operates with one of those metal detectors embedded in the pavement, and the little gate is key-operated. Meaning, if you don't have the key or a vehicle with you, you're stuck.

This was just a minor frustration; one "thanks for telling me" muttered under my breath later and I was perfectly happy to go on my way unimpeded. Until Friday afternoon, when Chad & I were trying to catch the bus to the store before some guests came over. We got the the gate and the key didn't work. We struggled with it for a second, gave up, looked around for a car coming to let us out, tried laying the key ring on the metal detector (Note: that doesn't work), and then watched the bus roll by without us.

So I marched over to the office to tell them that the lock was broken. Turns out they knew already, because other people had been by to complain before us, so they were working on it. All well and good, especially since the girl apologized for us missing the bus. We got out through the car gate and walked to the store instead.

This morning we went out to the bus to go to church, only to discover that the lock is still broken (and I tried my metal water bottle on the metal detector; it doesn't work, either). So we watched another bus roll by. This has to be the dumbest reason in history for missing church.

I sent a grumpy email to the apartments, explaining that we're upset because we've come to expect a high standard of service from the excellent management of these apartments and requesting that they view a broken lock as a priority, not a minor inconvenience. But that doesn't really make me feel any happier, because I'm sure that whoever reads the emails is not the person responsible for the locked gate in the first place, so I'm just making someone else's day unpleasant.

Is there something spiritual in all this? Probably. Am I going to bother finding it? No. Instead, I'm taking the advice of one of Chad's cousins (I already shared our woes on Facebook and Twitter; I've never been one to suffer in silence) and playing some worship music as a background to doing homework. I may not be worshipping with the church this morning, but I will not let my Sunday be completely ruined.

So tell me: What inconveniences/annoyances/outright catastrophes have you dealt with today? Did it ruin your day, or did you find a way around it?

I'm Being Collaborative

It's been interesting, in some of the books that I'm reading, to see how many different paths lead to the same conclusions.

It's not like this is a groundbreaking discovery, of course. There are as many ways to think/believe/act as there are people. But seeing it in print and having to think it over does underline it a bit.

Some use the condition of the planet to encourage reducing, reusing, and just plain thinking before consuming. Others appeal to the economic benefit of making "pre-owned" the norm. And then there are those who do a little of both. (Of course, one may also run across those who believe that there is no need for worrying about the planet or the pocketbook, but I'm not particularly interested in pursuing that point of view.)

Regardless of which category I or you may be in, what mystifies me is how fiercely each position is defended. What could be an engaging discussion with multiple perspectives on all sides instead frequently descends into a shouting match. Or a disdain match, or a blow-off match, or a spin match, or whatever. It's remarkable how such seemingly innocent decisions-- like where to shop-- could lead to this much fuss. And the end of at least one Facebook friendship that I know of (not one of my FB friendships; someone else's).

As a writer and a student of rhetoric, I'm well aware that words have power. Wielders of words can start arguments or stop them. And not just arguments: relationships, elections, wars, holidays, dreams-- pretty much everything worth doing, and a great deal of things not worth doing.

Please, have an opinion. Be informed. Take a stand. But don't turn everything into a turf war. Don't be so locked into your own thoughts that you leave no room for others. And remember that no one person has the monopoly on truth; you will always have something to learn as well as something to teach.

So, arguments? There are plenty to choose from. Which one leaves you bewildered that people even bother?

Giveaway!

I'm feeling guilty for neglecting my fellow crusaders, and, well, everybody else, too. And even while on spring break! It wasn't supposed to work out this way!

This in no way resembles
the prize pack I'm sending.
I just liked the picture.

So! To make up for being a horrible follower and also because I'm in a package-sending mood, I'm having a giveaway! Prize pack includes:

Some completely useless stuff I found while cleaning my house today
Some moderately useful stuff, likewise found
Some bookmarks, because I have approximately 583 of them
Some sort of Austin-y souvenir
and 1 random book from my collection

Okay, well, not totally random. Anything I haven't read yet is off-limits. Otherwise, I'm basically going to close my eyes and point. You might get Stephen King; you might get Terry Pratchett; you might get an instruction manual to an appliance I no longer own. That's the fun of the whole deal.

Edited to add: Since I'm using one of those cool "if it fits, it ships" boxes, I've revoked the random in the book selection and decided to make the most of the space in the box. The books are: It, Stephen King; Clear and Present Danger, Tom Clancy; and Rabbit Redux, John Updike.

Oh, and for fellow bloggers, I'll throw open my doors for a guest blog spot.

How to enter? I'm glad you asked! Leave a comment anytime between now and 9 PM CDT Thursday (that's 2 AM Friday morning GMT). Every comment gets you in the drawing +1 times, then my friends at random.org will decide the winner. And to make it even more fun, tweeting or blogging will get you additional entries; random.org will choose how many (between 1 and 10) each time. You might get lucky! You might get peanuts! Leave a link to your tweet/blog/FB mention so I know to give you your extra points.

And BTW, this contest is open internationally. Except perhaps for Timbuktu, because my mother threatened to send me there so many times that I'm not convinced that it's a real place.

Do I have any readers from Timbuktu? Any parents who threaten to send their kids there? Anyone else who was likewise threatened with a vacation in Mali?

Motivation

I followed along on the Kid Lit Chat on Twitter on Tuesday night, which I rarely do since it isn't my genre (and since I don't really keep track of when it happens). But so much good advice was free-flowing that I had to stop and read. And then I felt all energized to start writing, just from people talking about writing. It's like yawning, I guess-- very contagious.

Motivation is a funny thing. It comes, it goes, it takes all forms, and turns up in unexpected places. It drains away when you need it most. It's predictable in its unpredictability. And-- here's the really fun part-- it varies from person to person and circumstance to circumstance (what motivates me to write might motivate you to read and motivate the next guy to take out the rubbish, for instance). It's available, it's everywhere, but sometimes it's ridiculously hard to find.

So, in case you need some motivation today, here you go:

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing-- that's why we recommend it daily." - Zig Ziglar

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." - Jim Rohn

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps." - Confucius

"You are the only person on earth who can use your ability." - Zig Ziglar

Friday, Part 1

So! My Wednesdays were open, and since I get some loony stories in my car-free state, I decided to start Without-a-Car Wednesdays. ("Car-Free Wednesday" is shorter, but lacks that alliteration that I'm so fond of.) Plus, I'm saving them all up for a memoir, so this is also writing practise.

I volunteer for Bike Texas on Friday afternoons; the office is 1/4 mile from the nearest train station and the timing is great for finishing up around 5 PM. So last Friday, I thought I'd be clever and take the train (with my bike) one stop, then hop on the bike path that would take me the rest of the way home. Problem #1: I didn't think about it being rush hour. Problem #2: There are thousands of tourists in town for South by Southwest. Problem #3: My bike is pretty tall already (being a road bike), and the addition of the panniers makes it tall and wide, and therefore not amenable to cramped spaces. So I got on the already-full train, a bunch of people got on after me, and I realised pretty quickly that getting off again was going to be an issue.

When we got to my stop, I started rolling toward the exit, where even more people were piling on. There was no fighting the tide without injuring people (and possibly me), so I gave it up and decided to stay on for another stop. The passengers around me had a bit of a chuckle before advising me that being polite wasn't going to get me anywhere. Well, anywhere except all the way to the end of the line if I refused to push my way through to the exit.

The next stop, more people got off, fewer got on, and I wrangled the bike off with many "excuse me"s and "sorry about that"s to people who I accidentally jabbed with my handlebars. Bet they were glad to see me leave. Then I called Chad to let him know that I was going to be later than expected, only for him to tell me he was on his way to Toastmasters. That's fine, I said; I'll get back on the train (!) and go one more stop, then meet him a the Toastmaster meeting. Guess I should have called him before getting off the train. Sigh...

I went back to the platform, saw the next train was due in an hour, but the one going back into town was coming in 10 minutes. No problem; I'd go back downtown and get a bus.

To be continued...

I'm not the only polite person on the planet, so... share your too-polite-in-public stories!