Spring!

I wanted to write this: Hey, Mr. Angry Truck Driver Man driving too fast up DeSoto Street. You drive too fast on such a busy street where you could hit students. You shouldn't honk your horn like that outside a hospital where people are recovering. You sure as heck shouldn't roll down your window and scream profanities at me and tell me, "Get off the road! Get on the sidewalk, asshole!" You know why you shouldn't do those last two things? Because you are incorrect. The word sidewalk has walk in it because it's for walking. Roads are for tax payers! Even tax payers who ride bikes!

But instead of writing that, I'll write that today the trees outside my work are aflame with pink and red blossoms. The air is warm and Frank across the street is pruning his rose vines. He is cradling his flower bulbs while Anthony and Briana race up the street on their bikes and scooters. The neighbors are walking their baby around. I have back sweat and the windows in my house are open. My heater isn't running, so I'm not paying $7.20 per day to heat my house to the warm, warm temperature of 62 degrees.

I'm sitting on my porch with frozen blueberries and my feet up on the rail while the paper boy walks and hurls the Trib into my daffodils, which I didn't know I had until they popped out of the ground by themselves this week. Spring is here!

My feet won't freeze at rugby and I can hose myself off in the driveway without freezing tonight. I might need sunscreen at my game on Saturday! I feel good.

BM

Today at work, one of my students was showing me some pictures on MySpace. I saw one particularly beautiful one, of a pair of hands and a beautiful baby with huge, huge eyes. I said to him, "Is that you??? Are those your hands?"

He said, "Yeah. That's me and my BM."

"BM?? What the heck is that?"

Everyone in the room stared at me. I imagine that all the heads turned from the computers as tutors and students alike stared at my stupidity. I posited a guess: "Bowel movement?"

He laughed and laughed at me and said, "No, Miss Katy. That's my Baby Mama."

Back in the Saddle

Today, I rode my bike from my house, through Oakland, through Panther Hollow, and into the South Side. It was amazing. I felt so empowered, like I could travel anywhere I wanted without gasoline and it would all be fine.

The first leg of the journey was business as usual, only with added potholes to make things interesting. Then, when I descended into Panther Hollow, I couldn't believe what I got to see. I rode by the steam plant and under the highways. Even the undersides of the industrial bridges are beautiful. The yellow beams crossed in the sun, made interesting shadows...it was so great.

The trail wound its way across railroad tracks and through parts of Hazelwood before joining up with the brand new bike lane across the Monongahela. The western side of the Hot Metal Bridge, the part that used to be a defunct rail path, is now a bike and pedestrian trail across the river. That was amazing, too! I could look down the river in both directions and see the water breaking against the bridges. I saw a barge go past beneath me. I felt so connected to the city.

The ride HOME was primarily uphill and, thus, much less fun. I feel really great that I got a 14 mile ride in on such a gorgeous day and I feel a sense of accomplishment at discovering a new section of the city. My goal now that I am not holed away writing is to explore this place I have chosen as home. I think this was a nice start.

Awake

Toward the end of graduate school, sleep is often a distant thing. Rest? Actual restful sleep? Forget about it. The other night I said something like this to Corey: Can you think of anything in the world that could possibly be more fun than going to sleep? He laughed at me and said, in this order, "Eating beef jerky, riding my bike, being awake." Then he told me that in order of funness, starting with the most fun, he'd reverse that order. Being awake would top the list.

I thought about that conversation a lot this week as I struggled to cope with the fact that one of my co-workers/fellow grad students/friends lost her life. She no longer gets to be awake or ride her bike. She was a vegetarian, so she would never have thought to eat beef jerkey.

All week I've felt heavy and sad for the loss of this person, only 26 years old. She poured her soul into improving the lives of the student athletes we worked with. She gave everything to them and they reciprocated. I loved watching it happen.

Although I didn't know her too, too well outside of work--a few bike rides here, a dance night there, sometimes a baseball game--I know how she loved living things. I know how she would rather explode than see someone print a document one-sided. I know I never look at a lunch box without thinking of her sadness that our consumerist culture has a need for such things as lunch boxes. And I know that she liked nothing more in the world than to submerge herself in water surrounded by nature, trees, flowers, plants, the heavens.

So today I planted lavender. And I thought of her as I did it and I'll think of her each time I water it. I know she had a rough time of things of late and I know she had a long list of things to give the world, and I'll remain sad about her departure. But I also know that she'll be out there when the flowers bloom and with every waft of floral scent, she'll be reminding me to be a more compassionate and loving person. So I thank her for that.

April Fool

I tried to play a joke on Corey yesterday for Apil Fool's Day, and it failed. My mom told me what she was going to do to my sister Betsy and I copied it. Nance put a rubber band around the sprayer thing in the sink, so that when my sister turned the water on she got sprayed in the chest. I was on the phone with her when it happened. It was wonderful. Betsy yelled, "Heyyyyyyyyy! Ahhhhh! Is this a joke??????" It was so funny.

So I rigged up our sink with a green hair tie. I kept laughing at myself, thinking I was so awesome. I hated that I had to leave for rugby practice before Core Man got home to spray himself, but I kept giggling and hoping he would be wet when I got home.

I got home fully intending to play it cool. I wasn't even going to bring it up until he did. I was going to be smooooooooooth. Only I lost my nerve after about one second and I said, "Did you use the sink today? Did anything interesting happen? Did you like my April Fool's joke??"

He looked at me and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about." When I went to investigate, the hair tie was indeed removed from the nozzle. He said, "Why did you put a hair tie on the sprayer? It was dripping so I took it off."