"You're A idiot!"

This blog is entitled, "You're an idiot" because those were the words that resounded in my head during my last bike ride. It went like this:

I'm riding my bike north on Cedar, which is a nice street to ride a bike on due to the wide, clearly designated "Bike Lane." It even has pictures of bicycles for ... illiterate drivers (?). So here I am peacefuly pedaling in the designated portion of the road, and as I look up I am surprised to see a lady sticking her head all the way out her passenger side window as she screams at me, "YOU'RE A IDIOT!!!" (yes, she said A, not AN, and if she had written it she most likely would have used YOUR). The part that really startled me was the ugliness in her voice and the scrunched-up, distorted look on her face.

I thought to myself, "Maybe so, but at least I'm not sticking my head out of windows to scream at people." My next thought followed, "Wow, what an ugly person." But those ugly words played over and over in my thoughts as I wondered "Why?" What has happened in this woman's life to lead her to do such a ridiculous thing and to be such a hateful person? I can understand some goofy teenagers acting like that, as they act on their impulses or try to impress friends with their gutsyness, but this was a woman in her 30s or 40s.

It's really not important. I've been told much worse things. If I had not been so startled and schocked I would have given her an enthusiastic thumbs-up and a big, cheesy grin. Have I mentioned the dream where I step outside and the streets are empty of cars, but packed with bicycles and runners? It was a great dream, I'll have to write about it some time.

Check out these before and after photos of my new haircut. I cut off a 14 inch ponytail!

I'm wonderfully happy about my new short hairdo!

Relief at last!

(image from spine-health.com)

After nearly four days straight of debilitating back pain, I finally felt well enough to work out today. I was miserable all day Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and part of Monday. I didn't get to run the half marathon that I was planning to on Sunday. I cried at least twice because nothing provided relief.

Finally, I saw a chiro this afternoon and finally felt some relief! The best explanation for the cause of the pain is a spasm in my rhomboids, most likely from overuse. In addition to the extra swimming I've been doing, I also lifted weights while extremely fatigued on thursday night. Sometimes your body just says, "enough already" and shuts you down.

New Blue Swimcap

I somehow made it to the age of 25 without ever having put on a swim cap. As you can see by that blue piece of silicone on my melon, I am no longer a swim-cap virgin. This must be what it feels like to be abducted by aliens. I must say, I have never had my head squeezed from all directions with such intensity. Can these things cause brain damage?

Despite the skull-sqeezing cap, swimming is awesome--a full-body resistance workout and cardio at the same time, with no joint impact--an excellent complement to swimming and cycling. I'm terrible, but working on my freestyle stroke.

Note: I have not "stretched" this image, that is really the shape of my head!

Who the Hell is Rubik anyway?

I was once one of the many people who would pick up a Rubik's Cube, fumble and twist until I was dizzy, and then throw it on the floor declaring, "Those things are impossible."

Well, here you have it: I have mastered that tricky sucker once and for all. It's laughable how easy it is once you learn. Thanks to a good set of video directions posted on youtube, I present to you: