emerging

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything more than that silly questionnaire of last week…. So here’s the brain-dump of what I’ve been up to.

I started bike commuting again on Feb. 19: 3 days that week, 3 days the next week, and then today. With the weather looking as it is, I’ll probably ride again tomorrow too. It’s been lovely. A little chilly in the morning, but warm enough that I’ve put my fleece vest at the back of my closet instead of wearing it under my jacket. And the “all trail” option is frickin’ amazing. The new trail is creamy-smooth pavement, and the whole ride is beautiful, calming. In the afternoon, there’s lots of people out — walking, mostly — but even early in the morning there’s a few other walkers and some other bike commuters, too.

I bought a new bike weekend before last; something a little more “performance oriented.” A Kona Smoke 29-er, which is taking some getting used to after 3 years on the very quirky Townie, but I’m definitely more nimble on it. And no, the Townie isn’t going away; C & I are going to work on overhauling, upgrading, etc. so it can be the around-the-town cruiser it ought to be, instead of my main mode of transportation. (From April 2007 until March 2008 I put over 1000 miles on it.)

I’ve been maintaining my weight for about 2 months now since hitting my goal; I’ve actually lost another 5 pounds or so since then. It’s a little bumpier up & down than before, but all within a good zone. I’m trying to add more fruits & veggies to my diet, too!

I started a yoga class, which is more strenuous than I’m used to, but in a good way. Yesterday I went sore from overdoing gardening on Sunday, and came out with both my hand/wrist and my legs in much happier shape.

Sunday I rode my bike downtown & back in the morning, then spent the whole afternoon gardening. (In a tank top! Yay for southern exposure!) I got some serious work done, even if I paid for it later.

The neighborhood association board re-elected me as president last week, which is a bit of a mixed blessing. 🙂 I like doing it, but I always feel like I’m running behind on something or another. The general meeting two weeks ago was HAWESOME, tho. We did C’s open mic suggestion again, and this time lots of people came up and said their piece (peace?), got some conversations started, etc. Plus we got 3 new board members.

This year, as a whole, we’re going to try to get some forward movement on a Madison Scenic Park community garden, work on improvements at Lions Park (oh hell, I need to make a phone call!), and start a basketball tournament. Plus probably some other stuff. (I so very want to redesign the website.)

Thursday I leave for SXSWi, alas w/out C, who I was hoping to bring this year. Maybe another time. I’m excited anyway. I’ll be renting a bike again! This time I’m going for work, so I’m going to sessions that (hopefully) have some practical applications for my job. Or at least that’s the theory. There will be liveblogging in any case.

Speaking of work, yes, I am still enjoying my job, although the last couple of weeks have been entirely crazy. Now I’m trying to get everything cleaned up to be gone for a week…and I wouldn’t be surprised if I caught a cold when I got back, either; I’ve been dodging that bullet too long this winter. I might write up one of my recent projects, as I learned some new things setting up a Drupal site. I’m discovering that I like Drupal…even if I curse its name periodically.

I have not been writing. ::sigh:: But I did have a weird revelation about an old project, something I want to follow up on eventually. House projects have been start & stop, although with more start than usual. The weather has been uncannily pleasant. I may manage to get in a veggie garden this year.

And that’s pretty much that. What’s up with you?