My days have been mostly leisurely: sleeping late, eating, reading, catching up with college friends, interspersed with a bit of training - more running near my house, spinning on the exercise bike, or taking Cosmo out for a spin around the block on warmer days. My bike needed a few adjustments - a handlebar rotation and a new seat selected from the many in our garage (I hope my butt can withstand the one I chose). I also adjusted my shoe clips; this is my first time riding with clips which feels great. I heard they can increase pedalling efficiency by 30%. But with clips comes an extra element of attention - you have to be careful to unclip, with a quick ankle rotation, every time you stop. I learned by experience when I unclipped one shoe, but leaned over on the side of the shoe I left clipped in, which remained attached to the pedal as I fell over.
Christmas had a bicycle theme for me - I was given tires from my sister, gloves and water bottles from my mother, inner tubes and tube-changing tools from Dave, and a map of Baja California from Andrew. The day was a pleasant celebration with family and food. We watched Cast Away that evening. My favorite scene is when he knocks out his troublesome tooth with an ice skate; it fades to four years later when he spears a fish from yards away, and as he eats it raw you see the transformation his body has taken. I'd like to think that I could survive any situation, adapt to my environment with the simplest of tools. Could I make it without the many possessions I take for granted? And that's all I have to say about that.
I had a tooth extracted myself yesterday, a canine. It was a baby tooth that refused to fall out after 22 years, holding on stubbornly with half a root. The extraction was almost entirely painless and almost enjoyable, since I got to keep the tooth in a little clear case. It felt as if the last remnant of my childhood had been taken from me. Ha! I love being sappy and sentimental, mostly because I think it's funny.
After a trip to REI for the fourth or fifth time, Andrew and I went to some thrift stores for books. I got five books for under $10, which will be great on the trip. I started reading one and was so inspired I put on my boots, walked out into the night and climbed a tree and sat thinking for a quarter of an hour. My thinking went like this: on the premise that life is so good, how can I structure my thinking so as to take hold of its goodness, especially when I am feeling down, lethargic, or am tempted to settle for less than what is truly good? I love books because they have the power to pry open and challenge my thinking; a single sentence has the potential to widen my appreciation of life and narrow my focus on what's important, a grain of sand, a pine needle poking me in the back of my neck while I sit in a tree at night talking to the wind about life. I appreciate a good movie occasionally, especially ones that make me think, but I feel they cannot match a books' words playing on my own imagination, to allow me to grow as a person. I've already experienced four months without television when I studied abroad and it was fantastic, totally conducive to community, especially with new people. I am looking forward to the next few months bereft of television.
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