((((Oak)))) Thinking of you.
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((((Oak)))) Thinking of you.
(((Oak))) it always amazes me when someone so good comes from such a bad place.
(((Oak)))
ETA:
Dear friend's dad:
Using your daughter's single complaint/observation about her pet(s) as an excuse to rehome them within two days is not cool. I think you're just showing your own dislike for her animals and using her comment to justify it, dressing it up as helping her. You did this first with the parrot she raised from a chick, and not six months later with her cat. I'm surprised that you haven't yet found an excuse to get rid of the other parrot. She very much benefits from the animal companionship--it helps with the depression you refuse to recognize.
Grr.
Thanks all. Hugs were definitely welcome this weekend, and (maybe unsurprisingly) it will be very rough for a few weeks while I sort out some more unexpected and very ugly stuff...
Dear Owlie's friend - hugs. Dear Owlie's friend's dad - do not mistreat your daughter right now because I am in the mood to come there myself and punch you hard.
This makes both of us - and sending hugs to Owlies friend.Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
Oh dear, BIG HUGS to everyone having a hard time now.
Dear local traffic engineers and planners
Sometimes I wonder if you're trying to kill cyclists. There are bike lanes that continue across an intersection, yet run to the right of right turn only lanes. There's Main St., with 4 lanes of one-way traffic that often goes 50 mph (instead of the posted 35), and a bike lane completely in the door zone of very busy on-street parking. And now you've started putting in sharrows, with no effort made to educate the public as to what these weird markings mean. WTF?
Of course, it's not just cyclists. You also have it in for pedestrians...
And people wonder why this city was singled out for being the most sedentary in America.
What city, skhill?Quote:
Originally Posted by skhill
Lexington, KY. Last year Men's Health ranked us as the most sedentary city. Though a lot of the medical stats they looked at were affected by the folks from rural Kentucky who use the hospitals here.
Interesting. DH and I were in Lexington fairly recently (he's from KY originally) and I commented on how dangerous some of the downtown bike lanes seemed. Of course, I say the same thing about the bike lanes in Indy. I'd rather just ride in a regular lane.
Dear Lazy Neighbor,
I picked up the old paint scrapings out of my side yard and your driveway yesterday, so the wind would quit blowing them around. I realize that you're the baby of the family, but you're in your 40's now and should be able to pick up after yourself. I realize that you don't like yard work - your ratty yard is indicative of that, but if you start a project, you should at least clean up after it. We've had several lovely days in the past week where you could of picked up the mess. I take care of my rented home as if it was my own home, while you live in your parents home scot-free. Maybe I should call your big brother to straighten you out?
So when you do have your house painted, would you please let me know so I can move my car. Considering the care and attention you give to everything else outside, I have a bad feeling that my car could get painted too, especially since my driveway is so close to your house.
Your neighbor, who's tired of living next to a slob,
PAX
My thoughts and prayers are with you. I am also sending you as many hugs and a few more than you need. This can be so hard. And it can be so hard to patient and understanding sometime.
I just went through this with my Dad, although we didn't have a Dog.
If you can afford it, can you have some kind of relief help come in? We used "Visiting Angels." They were wonderful. At first we had them come in once a week for three hours (the minimum) and then when summer came on we had them come out an additional day to hep my father bathe. The three hour breaks did wonders for everyone.
We also very fortunate with the medical situation. There are now geriatic doctors than make house calls We were able to hook up with a fantastic doctor.
Once again, I send my prayers. I would send some pertinent quote, but what can more than I "feel" for you do? Please remember to take time for yourself (somehow) and I pray things work out for you soon.
Dear TE ladies
boy life can sure be a b#$@$ sometimes. I try to keep stuff in perspective (tearjerker ahead) and my DH wrote something amazing to another cyclist in late June (he died in July)
I am sharing it with you guys because you have been awesome to me and hey, a little perspective never hurts anything.
the a cyclist who had an injury shared this with me, Donald was responding to her complaints:
"From Donald, when I was feeling down, this is what Don wrote to me on BJ, just weeks before his passing:
'I know our situations are a bit different, B***a, but here's my take on this, for what its worth. After a couple weeks in the hospital last fall, I sorta knew that this was going to be a permanent change in my life. I didn't know what lay ahead, but I wanted my life back. The more I lay there reflecting on that, the more it became obvious to me that nobody had taken my life. This was my life, my "new normal" so to speak. At this point, even typing is difficult because of the met that has now attacked my right forearm and the blood clot in the right shoulder area that causes massive swelling. It is becoming obvious that my days even doing short rides are nearly done, and there are moments when I "want my life back", realizing the futility of that thought process. It is so very important to me to recognize that if I long for what I cannot have, I miss the opportunity to recognize the blessing of what I DO have. Time is a precious commodity, and I honestly believe that we need to make the most of every moment, especially if we have loved ones (most of us do, I think) who we care about. It is my experience that if I waste time focusing on the things I have not gotten to do or am not going to be able to do, I really cheat myself out of a lot of opportunities. If, on the other hand, I can find the silver lining in things and take the time I would waste fretting about the couldn'ts focusing on my gratitude for the wonderful things in my life at any given moment instead, my life is pretty doggone good.'
"
Biciclista,
How nice of that person to share that with you. Even in his own writing. When those things come up, they can make your day. Thank you for sharing it with us. I love his description of the whole change of his life and how he was going to deal with it. When my husband had Cancer, he was active too, he had his own days when he was not going anywhere. So I appreciate his thought process on the whole situation. I will definately struggle with this whenever I get to that point.
Red Rock
i hope you never get to that point, Red Rock!
What a beautiful note from Donald, and thanks for sharing it with us, Mimi. To me, even though I never knew him personally, he seems like a really "old soul" who had simply done all that he was meant to do in this lifetime, including achieving wisdom, perspective, and grace -- even in the face of something so difficult. We should all be so fortunate.
*hugs*
What Emily said. I read parts of Donald's blog when he died and was struck by his openness and honesty. It seems that he consistently approached life with a sense of gratitude, even in the face of difficulty and doubt. He sounds like quite the man; quite the spirit. Thank you for sharing him with us.
Dear life,
Ouch.
That's all I can muster the strength to say.
Mimi, that was beautiful. An attitude to aspire to. I hope to remember those words often enough.
((((((((Alexis))))))))
((((((((Mimi))))))))
He really did learn fast. I could never figure out how he could let go of stuff as easily as he did. I kept trying to learn from him, but I guess I am stubborn, and like to hold on to my resentments, my expectations, my disappointments. HOW did he do that? I guess I had better keep trying. That's the least that I can do, in his honor.Quote:
Originally Posted by emily_in_nc
One of the neatest things about him is that he left a huge paper trail. There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands of posts of his on bikejournal. A lot of them are just inane silly things but others are well thought and full of good advice. Ohwell. sorry to be rambling here.
Thanks for sharing that Mimi. It's so easy to feel sorry for yourself...Don's comments on bikejournal certainly left an impression on my husband- and I know that was just a small slice of his interaction with other people.
Thank you, Mimi.
Dear department (my adviser and one other person in particular):
Why can't you grow the (bleep) up and deal with your issues like adults instead of dragging students into it?
Me.
Thanks so much Mimi.
He was a very wise man. This is a beautiful sentiment that we can apply to so many situations. Absolutely beautiful. Thanks, Mimi, for sharing Donald's thoughts (and for sharing Donald) with us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Biciclista
Dear life,
Can you explain why I keep feeling like I've fallen off the loop somewhere and don't know how to get back on? I feel isolated and blank. It's not that I don't know how to enjoy my own company like everyone keeps telling me to. But I feel utterly absolutely isolated and as a result, spending time by myself is no fun. Actually, nothing is fun. I know it's a tiny problem compared to everything else that happens in the world but this is not how I want to keep feeling for the rest of my life.
((((Alexis)))). If you aren't already, have you ever considered talking to a therapist of some sort? I struggled with similar feelings for a long time, and it was definitely one of the bigger issues that my long-time therapist and I eventually tackled. Part of it is that I had to work long and hard at changing certain of my internal dialogues. I also had to work to find the types of people and activities that would fulfill me. For far too long, I beat myself up and felt estranged because most of my then-friends' social lives revolved around hitting the town and, to some extent, drinking. Those were things that made me feel exceedingly uncomfortable. It wasn't until I changed my social circles to include ygoa, cycling, and other physical pursuits that I found a social life more in keeping with my goals and interests. Anyway, I'd encourage you to talk to a professional if you're open to that.
Good advice, Indy.
yes, life is way way better than what you are seeing Alexis.
to whom it may concern. ahem? the sun? I Thought we had until FRIDAY...?
Alexis, Indy gave you very good advice. I'll restate it, from the "professional" point of view.
Please see a therapist. Changing those internal dialogues is not an easy thing to do on your own.
As someone who has had to do a LOT of work changing those internal dialogues (and will likely always have to work at it), I concur with Crankin and Indy. Get someone to help you with this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
Quote:
Originally Posted by Biciclista
Ramble on!
Your posts are wonderful.
To whom it may concern
On Sidi's ITALIAN website I see that there will once again be RED women's MTB shoes. But will they ever sell them in the US of A??
I'd sure like to know. My wonderful red SIDIs are getting worn out.
There's always another trip to Italy for shoe shopping. ;)
Mimi thank you for Don's wonderful thoughts. He was a very thoughtful man. You were and are lucky that he was in your life.
As far as red Sidi shoes, shockingly about three weeks ago, I went for a mountain bike ride; pulled out all my old gear of course and I had almost forgotten that I had bought a wonderful pair of red sidis! They are almost new since I quit riding shortly after buying them. what a nice surprise! They really are pretty. Oh, an shockingly, I am still a decent climber - what's up with that?
Is there any police patrolling in Portland Oregon! The DD has now lived there for 4 1/2 years and last night her car was broken into for the 4th time! All in different neighborhoods and not necessarily sketchy. This time they smashed out the passenger window but someone must have scared them off as they only got a cell phone, whew and two bikes and two computers were also in the car. The DH told her she should consider stripping everything out - like the radio and just leave it unlocked from now on...
Please tell your DD to not leave anything in the car. That's just inviting trouble, seriously. Car break-ins happen no matter what the neighborhood is like when there are valuables inside.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky King
Dear Life, Universe, Whatever You Are,
Wow, you sure do come in bursts, don't you? Pretty incredibly positive stuff going on. I know the pendulum swings, but right now, it's swinging my way. And no, I won't give in to superstitions and downplay the good in my life in hopes that will repel the bad. Doesn't work that way. Live life, whatever it brings.
And mine are .5 sizes too small. Ok for short rides, but not good for long rides. I *really* want a new pair. I have blue, but sapphire slippers just aren't the same as ruby slippers!Quote:
Originally Posted by Biciclista
ETA: Lest I get anyone's hopes up, I can't part with them until they make them again. I'm too attached:)
In large cities it is considered careless to leave valuables in your car. She should not leave her phone! computers! and the like in her car.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky King
hmm, Spokewrench, I was kinda thinking you were going to offer me your shoes. :p I see they have road bike shoes in red, but I need something I can safely walk in. MTB shoes are the ticket!
Dear Post Office,
Please deliver the warranty part for my cleats SOON! I am in withdrawal from the lack of riding, and I am NOT going on the trainer this early in the year! Thank you and I hope to find a package from you today.
Catherine