State of bicycling 2013

You already know that Jill and I like bicycles?  What is new:  the bike nut community is growing.  Here are a few observations from this month (being January, where high temperatures have been regularly less than freezing. 

1.  There are 2 boys (I believe in junior high) that ride their bikes to school every day.  And I mean every day.  I took the above photo from the comfort of my living room because it was about 10°F outside (also because I didn't want him to think I'm a creep).  Both guys rode through the 1" of snow on the road the next day.

2.  At 8:15am on said sorta snowy day, I was the 4th set of tracks on the gravel path I use for commuting.

3.  We went to our matriculated-adopt-a-student's housewarming party along with a number of his friends.  His new to him fixed gear bike was much admired by several friends.  A young lady said she dreams of owning a Peugeot like this. As we were leaving (dark, cold night), another young lady was unlocking her bike and to ride to a dance party.

What's the dream bike for these co-eds?  This is where my hope for mankind is slightly dampened.  A young man said Cervelo.  Are you paying attention, Mr. Colnago????

4. Moonlight rides continue through the winter.  I skipped this version for the housewarming (and we probably rode about as far as the moonlighters did), but still 7 people rode in the dark with sub-freezing temperature.

Our backyard looks like this right now.  Somehow, all our bigger storms have been warmer this winter, so we get lots of rain and tiny amounts of snow.  And cold days.

Finally, during the sermon at church today, I counted the number of people chewing gum.  Out of an estimated 150 people in my field of view, there were 9 gum chewers.

Interludes

You know how when you change jobs, it takes a month or so until the new benefits kick in?  I don't love that policy.  In the two weeks since I switched jobs, our big daughter has taken two trips to the doctor.  The first was to convenient care to check on a possible UTI.  Thankfully, that turned out to be a very minor case.

On Friday night, we took a trip to the ER.  Clara was brushing her teeth (using the verb very loosely.  The important point was that the toothbrush was in her mouth.).  She slipped on one of her 5 dresses and bumped her toothbrush on her play kitchen counter.  She cried out and then gagged a little.  At first glance, I couldn't see anything, but eventually got a flashlight to take a better look.  There was a small hole in the back of her mouth, just above her epiglottis.  Yikes!

Thankfully, the ER was not crowded.  Clara got checked out quickly, and the news was good.  It would heal in a few days, and all she just needed some anti-biotics.

And then come the bills...

 I think Janny's face is looking more toddlery every day.  It goes well with her strong oratory skills.  My favorite saying is "too spicy, don't like it".

 There is a whole lot of dressing up happening now, mostly by Clara.  First, just one costume was enough.

 Now she wears about 3 dresses, angel wings, head bands, scarfs, hat, shoes, and I don't know what else.  Is she a bag lady or an eccentric great aunt (not insinuating any of our relations, of course)?

We've had beautiful weather for the last 2 Saturdays, with frigid days in between (it was 6 degrees this morning).  For the first, I rode with the Wildcard gang to Monticello.  For the second, I tracked down the source of the clicking on my Boulder bike. This turned out to be the interaction of the BB cable guide screw and the BB.  The screw was slightly too long and had scored the surface of the BB.  If I pedaled hard enough, the screw would slip out and back into the groove.  Let's just say that wasn't my first guess.

Beginnings

Happy new year!  Today was my first day working at Wolfram Research, Inc.  My office (okay, technically a cube) is on the 6th floor with a fine view of Assembly Hall, Memorial Stadium, and train tracks.  I'm part of a group of Q/A workers, and I should to work a decent amount with friend Joel.  

My head is still spinning as a result of the career change and the amount of stuff to learn for the new job.  But not having to deal with uncertain work contracts or look for a job is a huge burden off my shoulders.  

Janny sometimes talks in complete sentences now, but by far her favorite words are 'woody', 'buzz', and 'watch a movie'.  'My turn' is shouted when I am flinging the girls around.  She likes to practice using the potty, so she could be fully potty trained soon.  Jill and I (mostly Jill) is not quite ready to face the training yet.

Clara ate eggs for the first time ever tonight.  Maybe because I cooked them?  This makes us very happy since eggs are quick and easy to create.  She loves to color right now with big crayons and markers.  If someone is working with her, she'll make an attempt at coloring specific items on drawings.  Otherwise, she likes to fill the page with long lines and several different colors.  

A few times per day, the girls play together.  They color, play with legos, and run/dance around.  Of course, they are adorable when they play nice, but the extra bonus is that mom and dad can spend tens of minutes at a time working on other things (like sweeping the floor).  Better times are ahead for sure!