Dear So and So

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Originally Posted by Becky

This must be one of the requirements to enter management. Another has to be the inabilty to listen to the technical people ;)

Hang in there, Catrin!

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Woooooooot! I have about 20 minutes of work left and I will have completed all I needed to this weekend! That makes 17 hours of work at home since I left the office early yesterday afternoon. AND I still got an hour bike-ride this afternoon - it was a choice of riding my bike or tossing my computer out the window...

So now my long training ride tomorrow is ON - we will see how easily it goes after too many hours on my butt since this all came down on Thursday...AND I am getting stretched by someone who knows what she is doing right before I go - it will be an interesting day on my new clipless pedals

Still not happy it came down this way, but such is life. Am thankful to have a job I like and most of the time it is not like this.

Now time for a beer and a good book :) Should probably hold off on the beer until after my day on the bike tomorrow, but I think I've earned it!

Dear inconsiderate and just plain cruel non-cyclists,

Why must you call out insults and humiliate people who are simply out trying to get some exercise and enjoy one of the last warm days of the year?

Thank you for stating the obvious - clearly the plus-size girl does not look like the model in the ad for her Louis Garneau shorts (huh... I thought the body came with the shorts... guess not).

Thank you also for ensuring that others around would then turn, gawk, and feel the need to add in their two cents worth on my appearance.

And lastly, thank you for trying to add a little creativity and wit to your insults - because I've never heard "hey I didn't know pigs could ride bikes," or "hey fatso, get off the road, you're cracking the pavement" before.

In conclusion, YOU SUCK!

Sincerely,

Someone who is attempting to exercise more than just her mouth and her ego.

good grief, inkspot, I'm sorry you had to go through that.


To the SOB who was driving the diesel truck pulling the off road jeep.

Yes, we ARE traffic. Even though you rudely and loudly sounded your horn (airhorn, thanks, we heard you) we ARE still traffic. what is more, unfortunately for you, we are NOT able to get off the road. When the shoulder is 20 inches wide, you really have to either cross the yellow line (which IS illegal) or slow down until it IS safe for you to pass. You rattled us to the core, but you did not scare us off the road. we are traffic. get used to it.
I find it ironic that you people hog the road so that you can then ride your fat tired jeeps all over the countryside where there are no roads, but you apparentlly can't share either.. We're not going away. get over it.

((((((inkspot))))))

People are a-holes. There's no other word for it ... I'm sorry that happened to you.

Inkspot,

So sorry you had to be the brunt of those imbecile's taunts. :( Please try not to let them discourage you from getting healthier and having fun. Only very small-minded people amuse themselves by knocking others down.

Dear boyfriend:
I get that you've been riding longer than I have. However, just because you have never experienced these problems does not mean that I'm "doing it wrong" or that "it's supposed to be like that and [I'm] not used to it yet." You lack a few of the parts involved, for one thing. I know my body better than you do, thanks very much.
I think your "helpful adjustments" have created more problems than they've solved. I'll take the arm soreness over mashed girly bits, and the hip pain is not from pedaling too hard. I know what that feels like. This is due to overstretching thanks to your overzealous seatpost adjustment. (Okay, that was partly my fault.) I now need to go put my saddle back where it was. :mad:

I feel your pain -literally still can't find the right saddle some days I have doubts about the man too. Hang in there I have faith that if they can put a man on the moon ,that someday they will make a saddle to fit me.

Dear neighbors,

I think it's grand that you walk with your kids to school. I applaud you for herding a half dozen or so kids to the elementary, then the middle school in a group.

It's just when you all walk right smack down the center of the street dontcha think that's not a good habit to teach the children? Do you see me smacking my head, stopping the car and waiting of course, then smiling and pointing to the side walk?

And I see you with no reaction to that whatsoever.

I know, I know, I need to bike to work so we can really have this discussion out from behind the window. :mad:

The big problem is that the reach on my bike is a hair too long, so until I can get a proper fitting and a new stem (or change the angle on my adjustable stem, but I'm not exactly amenable to that), I tweaked the saddle position earlier this summer. While it does put more weight on my arms because it stretches me out a bit more, the parts are happy. He's trying to compensate for the reach. This results in pain.

Dear Dr. Orthodontist:

I'm tired of dealing with your office. I want my braces off like yesterday. We're going on three years now. The fact that your office hours are now so limited--meaning that I have to take off work to stick with the treatment plan--is really p*ssing me off.

Just a little back story. My ortho has two offices, one on the north and one on the southside of town. When I first started with my braces, they didn't need to see me all that often, so scheduling wasn't a huge headache. A year into my treatment, a new doctor joined the southside office with the idea that he would buy the practice from him in time. Once he joined, they offered expanded hours, including early mornings. The timing was really fortunate, because we had reached a point in my treatment where I needed to be seen much more often. Over the next year, things were great, as I had a standing 7:30 a.m. appointment every two weeks.

Then, out of nowhere, the new doctor and all of his staff disappeared. I don't know why or what happened, but when I showed up for an August appointment, all the old people were there and all the new were gone. Without explanation. It sort of freaked me out, especially since I liked the new doctor and staff better.

But that also means that the old doctor is back to limited hours at the soutside location. I really try to avoid having to go in the middle of the day. For one thing, I have a job. For another, the office is in between my house and my office. He's only at the southside office a day or two a week, so if I can't make it that day, it totally screws me up.

So, when it became apparent today that they had few appointments, I sort of lost it. I'm tired of the braces as it is, but not they've become an even bigger pain in the butt. I'm done paying for them, so the thought of taking my file and finding a new doctor isn't appealing either. It's like I'm a hostage.

Ugh.

Dear Indysteel,

Once you get them off, your teeth will want to slide back to their old position, so maybe a little extra time in the braces might be better for your alignment in the long run. I got my braces off when I was 25 after wearing them for 3 years, and I still wear my retainer every night (I'm 43). My teeth still moved, even with all my diligence.

But boy, was that first baguette after the braces came off good! :D

I'm actually generally pretty Zen about the length of treatment assuming it means a more stable result. I'm just frustrated by the office situation. Having so few office hours just makes it more difficult for me across the board, and they're busier when I AM there, so I get less attention.

Dearest boyfriend:
Where do I start? I realize you have work to do, and I have nothing to do but study for the GRE, cook, and clean. BUT. You've said it yourself: You live here, and it's not fair on me to have to do everything. I see precious little evidence of you acting on this. I can't even persuade you to take the trash out yourself or move your stuff so I can clean under it. I'm a little sick of asking you to do X, having you answer "Okay! Give me a minute"...and it never gets done. You're out $30 because you didn't return the splitter that's been sitting in the living room for a month. And I'm tired of using your computer or going to Starbucks to use the internet. You've been saying for a month that you'll be ordering the router.
One more thing: If you're going to sleep in my bed, I'd appreciate it if you didn't scoot to the middle and then do impressions of starfish. I'm in your room, minus my comforter. It's freezing in here.:mad:

Dear Hamstring,

What is up with your recent behavior? As soon as you started complaining and asking for attention I started taking it easy on the bike and in spinning class. Even dropped the exercises at the gym that focuses on you. I have been babying you, and how do you choose to act? You wake me up in the middle of the night complaining further. Please cease and desist this activity now, I really would like to have a nice hilly ride this weekend in a beautiful state forest rather than a gentle spin in wind-swept cornfields :cool:

PS - I know my quads and core muscles are very tight and am working with that, so be please be patient...

Dear wireless internet:
I love you. That is all.

Dear Kitchen:
Please clean yourself, or you will be outsourced to taco bell. Thanks.

Dear Apartment,

I am moving out in 3.5 weeks, and just learned that my work schedule will also be insane for the next 5 weeks. Please help me out by helping me pack - and anything else you can think of that will help me depart from you. I am sure that your next inhabitant will be home more than I...

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Dear Apartment,

I am moving out in 3.5 weeks, and just learned that my work schedule will also be insane for the next 5 weeks. Please help me out by helping me pack - and anything else you can think of that will help me depart from you. I am sure that your next inhabitant will be home more than I...

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Ugh; I hate packing and moving. Do you have a lot of stuff?

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Ugh; I hate packing and moving. Do you have a lot of stuff?

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I probably don't have as much furniture as most people do, and I have actively been thinning out other things as much as I can so I don't have so much to move. It is just that my job is intense enough right now, that the move is just going to increase my stress that much more - but it is only for a short time. The new apartment really is nicer, and I will be able to ride from home after I move - a great improvement :)

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Originally Posted by jessmarimba

Dear Kitchen:
Please clean yourself, or you will be outsourced to taco bell. Thanks.

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Thanks for the laugh! Good one! :D

Our kitchen got outsourced to Chipotle tonight. Closer and not as sketchy as the nearest Taco Bell. :D Thanks for that laugh.

Dear school:

Can I have a week off, please? After three straight years without a vacation, I really want to sleep...

Sincerely,

One tired student

Dear Stupid,

I'm really glad you're riding your bike to the gym, but if you're going to ride it, and lock it up, at least know the RIGHT way to lock it up. As in go through YOUR frame, not your quick release back wheel and then through MY frame thus locking my bike up and not yours.

Hope you learned something from the note I left you.

Sincerely,

Me

Dear Herald,
Would you please hold down your breakfast? Coming "home" to the hotel, to find you've tossed breakfast, again, is not exactly pleasant. :( You hold down dinner and it's the same thing. I don't understand. Am I going to need to add a Vet bill to my VISA card? :eek:

Oh wow pinky, that had to be a pain!

And bmccasland - I wonder if it's just stress? You just moved, right? My cats will do that sometimes if I've been gone - eat and then puke it all right up within half an hour or so. It's pretty disgusting, but if dinner is staying down Herald is probably ok.

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Originally Posted by pinkychique

Dear Stupid,

I'm really glad you're riding your bike to the gym, but if you're going to ride it, and lock it up, at least know the RIGHT way to lock it up. As in go through YOUR frame, not your quick release back wheel and then through MY frame thus locking my bike up and not yours.

Hope you learned something from the note I left you.

Sincerely,

Me

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inquiring minds want to know how you got free if the chain was through his wheel- even taking it off of the bike wouldn't quite work although I would have done that just to say thank you.

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Originally Posted by marni

inquiring minds want to know how you got free if the chain was through his wheel- even taking it off of the bike wouldn't quite work although I would have done that just to say thank you.

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I considered taking the frame, picking up another ill-locked back wheel and riding home, but thought that would be viewed as stealing :rolleyes: Totally considered it though. I made SO ride home and come back with the car since I wasn't interested in walking 3 miles in the dark. Then drove back to pick up my baby after dinner. Dumbass tore up my note and stuck it in random places...guess she didn't like the correction :p

While I waited I found a mtb with nothing but a U-lock locked to his front wheel and sitting on the ground...coulda found an extra front wheel quite easily too :rolleyes:

Wanna bet 90% of stolen bikes were people who didn't know how to lock it up right?

Dear Pedestrian:

When I quickly flicked my lights to let you know that I was stopping for you, and stopped several car lengths from where you were crossing, coming at my car in a threatening manner, shaking your fist *with a baby carrier on your arm* was really not smart. And not appreciated. I don't know how you could have thought I was being anything but courteous. I hope the female you were with gives you a stern talking to. Safe travels, d!ck head.

Dear Person who made my Boots,

I know you are out there, because these boots were clearly made by a person who knew how to make boots for human feet like the ones I have at the bottom of my legs.

Thank you. You did good work.

That the boots you made ended up Nordstrom Rack must not be taken as any kind of insult, rather it is the miracle that led them to my feet where they have nourished my body and soul which were both pretty much in need right now.

*insert the blessing of your choice here*

Dear former document writer,
When you cut and paste information from another document, with the intent to go back and edit it later to the pertinent information for the particular project at hand, could you at least mark the erroneous information with a different font or color? It makes finding the sections that need editing easier - even for yourself. Kind of embarrassing to send a completed document over to the client with photos of adjacent property that are actually miles away, or references to a creek that isn't there. Let alone makes it extremely difficult for someone else to pick up your lousy work and fix it. I want to choke you right about now. Good thing you're teleworking. :mad:

Dear Coworker -- Stay home when you're sick. And if you insist on coming in to work sick, it would be nice if you didn't chose that particular day to hang around my work area, talking to yourself, constantly clearing the thick phlegm from your throat, and sneezing. I'm seeking Divine Intervention in co-existing gracefully with your Type A, OCD personality (and I thought your gum cracking/snapping/bubble blowing and negative comments were bad.....). When you're sick and spreading germs, it's a greater challenge.

beth - it sounds like you might do something similar to what I do for a living. Only at this point, my reports are getting reviewed about 5 times before they go out the door (3 weeks late) because several of our reviewers aren't qualified to review.

Dear jack@ss,

We're still trying to figure out what the heck you were doing to hit my parked car the way you did, but the least you could have done is stopped and manned up to it - I was looking directly at you from my living room window as you wrenched your green SUV off of the edge of my front bumper, pulling it 1/2 way off in the process.... BTW, I did call the cops and if they spot a green SUV with damage and red paint on its front passenger side they will tow it....

What really sucks is that the damage you did is probably worth more than the car, so claiming it is useless. Unless I want the insurance company to total my car, I have to live with it (hubby is seeing right now if he can get the fender back on, horn may or may not work... the connector was ripped free, cracked [I have a saturn- its plastic] front fender will just have to stay that way - maybe I'll print a big bandaid on vinyl sticker for it....)

Aww, that sucks, Eden! Any reason you didn't run screaming out of your house at the jerk since you saw him do it, or were you too far away? Too bad you couldn't get his license tag #, but hopefully the cops will find the low-life scum.

He didn't stick around very long - by the time I made it out the front door (in my socks...) he was already at the end of the street... I only saw his plate for a second so I only got a few of the numbers. I think I did stand in the middle of the street and say bad words at him - but not terribly loudly as he was already too far away to hear me...

My husband got the bumper banged out and put back on good enough that it doesn't show too much (besides the missing paint at least) stays on and doesn't hit anything - though he says there are some parts that were destroyed underneath. The hanging wires were the horn, but it was OK once he reconnected it.

This actually is par for the course around here.... I don't have a driveway, so I have to park on the street. We've lost 4 mirrors over the life of the car and no one ever owned up to any one of those. When we had a truck we actually did catch someone who hit it - probably only because he had a little sports car. He hit our parked F250 hard enough to wedge that little car right underneath and he couldn't get free.... The guy was high as a kite, but he was insured and they did pay to have the big old truck fixed - they kind of had to, he stoved in the grill and crumpled the front fender enough that you couldn't open the drivers side door.

dear sweet cat,

i know you are just so beside yourself with joy that i actually came home and fed you at 1 am instead of forgetting your evening meal, and you are having a swell time lying upside down in my lap playing with ny necklace and purring your heart out.. but i'd really like to go to bed now, please. cant you just go somewhere and be boring?

one-handedly yours,
your human

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Originally Posted by lph

dear sweet cat,

i know you are just so beside yourself with joy that i actually came home and fed you at 1 am instead of forgetting your evening meal, and you are having a swell time lying upside down in my lap playing with ny necklace and purring your heart out.. but i'd really like to go to bed now, please. cant you just go somewhere and be boring?

one-handedly yours,
your human

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Awwww, how sweet :D

Dear husband, thank you for the icepack for my leg,the understanding when I didn't want to go to your friend's birthday party even after I dragged you through 3 hours of pumpkin patch helll. Thank you for coming home from the party and cleaning up dog puke so I could go to bed,and cleaning up more dog puke(don't know what in gods name he ate) this morning so I could go to work. Thanks for picking up our daughter after your nasty,cold,muddy,wet CCX race and then asking me how my day went and actually listening. I'm sure I don't say it enough thank you

Dear body--
Please tell me that this bout of the sniffles is because I haven't cleaned the apartment for mumblety mumblety and not because I'm getting a cold. I'll be plying you with hot tea and miso soup in the meantime...

I know you're the head of the entire medical system's weight management program, and I know you're in charge of all of their weight management drug studies, and you're the guy in charge of their bariatric surgery programs, too...so I really, really was hoping for more helpful advice from you than, "At your age and with your genetics, the best you can hope for is to level yourself down to 180. You're a pear. You're very clearly a pear, with some apple overlay, but that apple fat will fall away quickly. This around your hips and thighs, this hangs on. I really don't have a program for you. I wouldn't recommend any of the drugs on the market right now. There just aren't any that I think would work for you, not with the heart disease in your family.

You might consider becoming a strict vegetarian. And by that I mean eating mostly vegetables and some lean protein. No processed foods whatsoever. Barring that, I think your best solution is gastric bypass. Not lap band. The success rate just doesn't impress me. I think you should go with gastric bypass."

I said, "But that's permanent."

He nodded and said, "Yes, but this is a disease you're going to have to deal with for the rest of your life. If you were diabetic, we wouldn't take you off your meds as soon as your blood sugar stabilized. I've seen a lot of people in your condition (morbidly obese) get a new lease on life after gastric bypass."

I left his office feeling horribly discouraged. He told me I seemed to be very well-educated on diet, supplements, exercise, and all that, and that I should be grateful I don't weigh more, that it's only because I do eat so well and exercise so much that I don't weigh much more than I do. I'm in that class of people who were built to survive the starvation times back in the days when humans were still hunting and gathering. Great.

I barely contained the tears as I sat in his office listening to him telling me I have no hope of getting down to my ideal weight. The best I can hope for is 180? Really?

He made the point that my weight hasn't fluctuated all that much, even though I've had periods of little or no activity due to injuries, and periods of lots of activity when I'm actively training. My diet doesn't change all that much. I'm stabilized at 225 - 230. That's become my body's set point.

Can you imagine?

Then I saw this really hateful blog post on Marie Claire's site. It was shared by a Facebook friend. Basically this NYC fashionista declared that fat people shouldn't be on TV, that she's uncomfortable watching a fat person walk across a room, much less get intimate on TV (some new show calle Mike and Molly or something), and why don't we just step away from the donuts and "do us (skinny people, I guess) all a favor and go for a walk." She doles out a bunch of standard diet and exercise advice, and asks people whether or not by posting this if they all feel this way, or is she just being a jerk. She got a lot of responses, all negative and in the "jerk" column, but still, I got her message.

So I came home yesterday and did an hour on the treadmill, some of it while crying -- try catching your breath between sobs at 4 mph and a level 2 incline. Today I swam half a mile. I'm feeling better. Some.

Still...gastric bypass? How am I going to fuel a century with a gastric bypass?

Ugh.