I want to ride my bicycle!

I had part of the day off today. After a quick meal and a quick nap, I went to go get my hair cut (results: super cute, but not what I asked for. She was really nice, but I hate when hairstylists think what will look better is more important than what I want).

After that, I headed along Lake Street to check out a few different places to buy a bike. I am finally giving up on my old school Magna that I bought at Target in middle school. Only 2 of the gears work, and it's rusty and heavy and impossible to bike uphill. Literally, impossible. Even slight inclines I usually end up getting off and pushing it up most of the way.

So, I ended up at the Hub Bike Co-op (after a few different stops where everyone was really nice but the bike selections were a little out of my price range). It's a cooperatively owned chain of shops in Minneapolis (there's one right by my house, but I went to one farther away that has a larger used and clearance selection).

They were just a friendly as everyone else at the other bike shops, but they actually asked questions and showed me what bikes they had that were what I was looking for. Another bike shop had just sent me to the creepy basement by myself to look at what bikes were in the graveyard. Probably awesome if I had any idea what I was looking for, but this is my first time buying a bike since I was 13 and I just cared that it was purple. The guys at the Hub were very friendly and helpful and took the time to make sure I was happy. They even answered questions about the bikes with more detail than I knew was knowable.

It's like that circle of knowing that I vaguely remember from school. Inside the circle is what you know, and outside the circle is what you don't know. The circumference of the circle is what you know you don't know, basically. The more you learn, the more you know how much you don't know. So, I learned a little bit about bikes tonight, so the area of my knowledge circle grew bigger, but since the circumference (what I know I don't know) grows with what I do know, I know I don't know a lot about bikes. But I also know more about what I could know about bikes.

Anywho, they're getting my new comfortabler seat and rack put on tonight, and then it'll be mine to take home. Should I name it? It's a Giant brand, and it's black. It'll have a rack on the back, and a basket on the front. I might put the fenders on there too from my old bike. I'll think about a name.

This is going to be a breeze compared to my old bike.  I would dread riding it. Even used rental bikes were a dream to ride in comparison. I'm excited.

Strange Dream

I had a weird dream the other night.

I dreamt that I got myself pregnant.

Not like a Virgin Mary miracle pregnant. Or an Ambien-induced accidentally-slept-with-the-neighbor pregnant. Much stranger than those.

My left ovary was actually an undescended testicle, and had been undetected for my whole life until I went to the doctor with pregnancy symptoms. Anyway, I got myself pregnant through some miracle of intersex science.

I remember thinking "How am I going to raise a baby on my own, and even without child support?" but decided to keep it because how many people in the world can get themselves pregnant? At the very least I could get my own TLC show.

But then I started getting used. The media was harassing me. Scientists were exploiting me. Crazy Evangelists started threatening me because I was allegedly carrying the Anti-Christ.

So, I got myself a lawyer, and then I woke up!

The Dentist

Remind me to change dentists.

I scheduled a cleaning/exam a couple months ago at the dentist I had been to once before.

Apparently, even though I repeatedly told the scheduler that I had been there before, she only scheduled me for a new patient exam, which does not include the cleaning.

I was not aware that she scheduled me for only an exam.

So I got there early (about 3:55 for my 4:10 appointment), and they greeted me really nicely, etc. Went back there, and the dental assistant kept looking at me funny. I never did figure out why, but I imagine it is because she is new. She never said she was new, but I eventually figured it out because of how the other assistants helped her.

They apparently lost all the x-rays I took last time, because they insisted I take all 10+ xrays again, even though I was there only 9 months ago for my first "new patient exam." This is when I discovered I wasn't going to get my teeth cleaned. I also happened to overhear them saying they should take the xrays again anyway because I had private insurance.

Seriously? Do people with private insurance get different treatment than others? Also, they had no record of my medical history, which I gave them last time. And is it so hard to clean someone's teeth? That's all I went there to do! I didn't even care about the exam so much.

Anyway, after all this, the new assistant slowly takes the xrays (if I get charged for them, I'm definitely going to complain!), in the meantime cutting my gums because of how uncomfortable the bites are.

I learned a lot about my mouth today. Apparently,  I have tori, which is extra jaw growth on my lower jaw. Totally normal, and nothing to worry about unless I need dentures. Or if I am getting xrays taken, in which case I am going to bleed and it's going to be painful.

Seriously, it was painful. I cried. I have a really high pain tolerance, and I cried. Maybe it was the surprise, or maybe it was because it was on my face? I feel like when I hurt my face, my eyes water uncontrollably.

After this, I waited patiently for the dentist to do the exam. Really patiently. The assistant left to go get her at least twice.

She was very awkward in a way where she was trying to be nice and professional, but she just came off as stiff. I suppose my mood at this point didn't help. She did teach me some interesting things about my mouth. In addition to having tori, I have a low muscle that connects my upper lip to my gums. This will also be a problem if I ever need dentures. I still have a crossbite from before I had braces. My teeth are crowded on the right side. I have an enamel pearl on my molar. I have general calcification, which means I should have had a lot of cavities, but my teeth calcified before they could fully form. Luckily, the calcification is hard enough where it shouldn't be a problem. I also have snowcapped molars, from the calcification.

Also, I need to floss more. "Do more homecare." Story of my life.

Aside from getting my teeth cleaned on June 5th, (Seriously, a month and a half from now?) I will not be going back to this dentist. Plus I was there until 5:25. How was I there for an hour and a half when all I did was get a dinky exam?

I miss my Northfield dentist. And doctor, for that matter. They were all so pleasant and lovely to be around and helpful.

When Cats Ain't All That

Don't get me wrong, I love my cat. She's adorable and sassy. (Get it? Like Sassy from Homeward Bound?)

But then there are times when she eats yet another rubber band that you were 100% sure you put in the junk drawer, and chews a hole in the plastic garbage bag.

And then throws them up on the towel you just washed!

Why would she eat those in the first place? This cat is going to end up in the vet one day just because she eats random stuff.

Like bra straps. At least the rubber band was free.

Sleep

I fell asleep last night at 9:30 on the couch. I woke up at 5:30 am, and slept more until 8:30.

Then, I thought to myself "I'l have the whole day ahead of me to do everything! No way I can go back to sleep after this!"

Well, a tasty breakfast later and some Sunday morning internet browsing later, I took a nap from 11:30-3:30.

At this point, I actually left the house to go get groceries and make dinner and everything.

"Wow, I am going to get so much done today. I won't be able to sleep a wink! I'll have so much energy, I'll probably end up cleaning all night."

Nope. I'm tired enough to sleep already, and it's not even 11pm.

It's amazing how tired one can be when the only thing one has to do is clean.

This couch is amazing.

The North Loop

It was such a beautiful day, I decided to walk home from work.

I am going to ride my bike to work most days once it gets warm enough. I could go through downtown for a shorter trip, and almost no hills, but that's seems almost suicidal to me during rush hour. I think I'm going to take West River Road, which has a nice winding bike path. It's just under 4 miles instead of a little over 2, and there are a lot of hills, but there's safe and scenic paths the whole way. There's a bike trail that branches off of the river that runs about 1/4 mile from my work, but for the life of me I cannot googlemap a convenient exit from the trail. 

So I decided to scope it out on my walk home, and walked to where I think the bike trail should start. I'm going to have to try it out with my bike on a Sunday or Saturday once it warms up a bit more and the bike paths aren't muddy and icy.

To get to the river, I have to go through the North Loop, and up-and-coming upper-crust neighborhood in Minneapolis. It's the only really really nice part of North Minneapolis. There are nice areas, but this place has million dollar condos and the like. I felt like I had jumped the fence and entered a gated community where I did not belong.

It is ridiculously nice. There are small independent fitness centers on every block, and fancy specialty gourmet restaurants as far as the eye can see. It's even got the little banners on all the street lights letting you know where you are. The North Loop is very clean and well-maintained. With one major exception: Dog Poo.

There is dog shit everywhere. If you can afford to live in such a nice neighborhood, you can probably afford some little pooper scooper bags. Or are they so rich they're too good to pick up after their dog?

Seriously. It's gross. The hedges were well-trimmed, and the lawn decorations were tasteful and beautiful, but there is simply crap everywhere. I get that melting snow reveals a lot of doggy waste that wasn't necessarily visible before the snow melted, but even my neighbors in my litter-ridden neighborhood can pick up their dog's crap.

Of course, if that's all I have to criticize the area about, they're doing pretty well.

A picture of the river from my walk home today.

Bums

Living and working in Minneapolis, I see and talk to a lot of bums. You know, the people who are most likely homeless, really stinky, and are way too talkative for their own good?

For example, I was in the library bathroom downtown yesterday, and one homeless woman (didn't even see her, so I can't be sure she was a "bum," but she told the whole bathroom she was homeless, so I'm not even assuming anything about her) waited to use the last stall. She explained why:

"I spend a lot of time here because I'm homeless. I only use the last 2 stalls because the camera can see you in the other ones."

There I am, in the 3rd stall to the end, peeing. I look up, and what do you know?

A camera. I stuck my tongue out at it and waved.

The bum I see second most often is not actually homeless. I call him Chair Guy. The first handful of times I saw him, he was carrying a folding chair. I think he lives in the mill district, which is strange, because that's a pretty nice area. And he has no teeth, lays on the sidewalk while waiting for the bus, and has nothing in his backpack, which he can never get all the way on his back, and it's always open.

Anyway, I was sitting across the aisle from Chair Guy in the front part of the bus, staring absentmindedly at the ground near him, when I saw a Hershey's chocolate egg fall out of his pants.

I was very confused, but he didn't notice. The egg proceeded to roll away from him. I know it was just because the bus was moving, but it really looked intentional. Like when the Ring of Power bounces away from Gollum. I had to try really hard not to laugh.

I probably should have told Chair Guy that his egg left him. But I'm an introvert, and his mouth was really bloody and gross. Anyway, the egg rolled back up to the front of the bus when Chair Guy got off.

Unfortunately for Egg, PersonGettingOnTheBus stepped on it the same stop Chair Guy got off.

Tragic Ending.