I am now officially registered in a nonfiction readings class at the University of Iowa as a "tentative, non-degree seeking graduate student."
I dunno. I think I consider myself a tentatively surreptitious degree seeking graduate student.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
N + 1
I have to say, there couldn't have been a better time to reunite with my Jamis. Although I still get a little thrill of disbelief every time I remember my old bike is with me again, it's rapidly reintegrating. With Mom and Meryl still here, we've had some getting around town to do, and it helps to have two townie bikes that both fit my sister and I perfectly. Meryl and I dashed over to the mall a couple of nights ago to see Ratatouille, and yesterday the three of us did some exploring of town.
Now that I have a townie bikes with gears, a townie bike without gears, a road bike, and a mountain bike, I sort of wonder how I ever got along in the days before the Fuji came along. The hardest decision I'll now have to face every morning is which glorious set of wheels to take on my day's adventures. We have some tentative plans to avail ourselves of the Jamis' touring capabilities - adorn it with some baskets and/or racks, perhaps some 650B wheels, and bigger tires. We'll see, but the possibilities are exciting.
Which just goes to show, as a cyclist friend of Brian's explained to me not long ago, the perfect number of bikes really is n + 1 (n being the number of bikes you already have). We are now a happy couple with seven fully functional bikes under one roof, and two extra frames.
On a different note, it's been great fun having my family here. Although the house is a little fuller than usual, we've had some good times involving port, cucumber sandwiches, WD-40, and potting soil (none of these things were combined). Our front porch is looking much more attractive since my intelligent female relatives suggested a brilliant way to fix (and clean) the exterior windows and, of course, they always help bolster my deplorable lack of interest in the area of clothing. So, I'm looking a bit better as well.
My mother and sister will head back to the land of sagebrush and mesquite trees tomorrow, and we here among the grass and humidity will miss them.
Now that I have a townie bikes with gears, a townie bike without gears, a road bike, and a mountain bike, I sort of wonder how I ever got along in the days before the Fuji came along. The hardest decision I'll now have to face every morning is which glorious set of wheels to take on my day's adventures. We have some tentative plans to avail ourselves of the Jamis' touring capabilities - adorn it with some baskets and/or racks, perhaps some 650B wheels, and bigger tires. We'll see, but the possibilities are exciting.
Which just goes to show, as a cyclist friend of Brian's explained to me not long ago, the perfect number of bikes really is n + 1 (n being the number of bikes you already have). We are now a happy couple with seven fully functional bikes under one roof, and two extra frames.
On a different note, it's been great fun having my family here. Although the house is a little fuller than usual, we've had some good times involving port, cucumber sandwiches, WD-40, and potting soil (none of these things were combined). Our front porch is looking much more attractive since my intelligent female relatives suggested a brilliant way to fix (and clean) the exterior windows and, of course, they always help bolster my deplorable lack of interest in the area of clothing. So, I'm looking a bit better as well.
My mother and sister will head back to the land of sagebrush and mesquite trees tomorrow, and we here among the grass and humidity will miss them.
Friday, August 10, 2007
A Miracle
As my family was off visiting Grinnell today, Brian and I decided to go hit happy hour downtown after work. While sitting outside on a lovely patio, we had a couple of beers, and got to talking about sushi, and how great sushi is. We talked about sushi for long enough we felt we had to have some, so we decided to go to Takanami on our way home.
We walked through downtown at a leisurely pace. As we approached the intersection at Dubuque and Iowa streets, I glanced across the road and saw a solitary bike locked to a rack. The bike looked oddly familiar. It exuded a restless quality that pulled at my heartstrings. Also, it was dark green with silver decals. I looked closer and discerned some red on the underside of the saddle. Telling myself not to get excited, I said, "I think that's my bike."
Brian and I crossed the street. As we drew closer, there could no longer be any doubt. The Johnny Sprocket's decal on the down-tube, the double-sided pedals, the clamp for my light on the handlebars... everything was right. It was my bike. Undeniably, irrefutably my good old Jamis Aurora - stolen from my porch three months ago today.
I said, "What do we do?"
We called the police. They found the report I'd filed and an officer soon arrived on the scene. He verified the description and called for backup. Presently, another officer joined us, this one wielding the bolt cutters of justice (the handles were at least three feet long). After hacking through the lock that held my bike captive, they sent Brian and I off home with my liberated steed.
Unfortunately, the bike is a little worse for its journey into the unknown. It is going to need some repairs, as the thief obviously made no attempt to maintain or care for it. But, I'm just happy to have it back. Too bad it can't tell me all it's been through. Fortunately, as it wasn't a flashy bike to begin with, its new scars will just add character.
After bringing my bike safely home, we headed back downtown and had some celebratory sushi. It was pretty wonderful.
We walked through downtown at a leisurely pace. As we approached the intersection at Dubuque and Iowa streets, I glanced across the road and saw a solitary bike locked to a rack. The bike looked oddly familiar. It exuded a restless quality that pulled at my heartstrings. Also, it was dark green with silver decals. I looked closer and discerned some red on the underside of the saddle. Telling myself not to get excited, I said, "I think that's my bike."
Brian and I crossed the street. As we drew closer, there could no longer be any doubt. The Johnny Sprocket's decal on the down-tube, the double-sided pedals, the clamp for my light on the handlebars... everything was right. It was my bike. Undeniably, irrefutably my good old Jamis Aurora - stolen from my porch three months ago today.
I said, "What do we do?"
We called the police. They found the report I'd filed and an officer soon arrived on the scene. He verified the description and called for backup. Presently, another officer joined us, this one wielding the bolt cutters of justice (the handles were at least three feet long). After hacking through the lock that held my bike captive, they sent Brian and I off home with my liberated steed.
Unfortunately, the bike is a little worse for its journey into the unknown. It is going to need some repairs, as the thief obviously made no attempt to maintain or care for it. But, I'm just happy to have it back. Too bad it can't tell me all it's been through. Fortunately, as it wasn't a flashy bike to begin with, its new scars will just add character.
After bringing my bike safely home, we headed back downtown and had some celebratory sushi. It was pretty wonderful.
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