some happy things

Number one: It turns out I like running! I have always loathed running, but if I have a buddy and we take it slow and chat while we’re at it, I can actually do it and enjoy it at the same time! What’s more, I can do about two miles if I pace myself. Now that’s something. I haven’t even run a mile since we were required to do it in high school. Now if I could just keep up the running when I’m actually in school (time-management has always been a problem, and I don’t do well with cold air in the winter months), I’d be set. And, frankly, this is more about keeping my heart healthy than anything. I do not exercise for vanity (okay, I admit, the hardening muscles in my legs are a perk!).

Number two: I started riding my bike to work again! The air has been much better for some time now, but I was already in the habit of driving and suddenly I couldn’t be ready early enough to ride my bike. But now my parents are back in town and I have to actually juggle for a car again, and the weather has been so nice, and so I decided it was time. Oh, it feels good. I’ll have to go to the library soon (I think I have an overdue DVD, while I’m at it).

Number three: I finally went to the yarn shop in Campbell! A boy in my ward, Kaden (he’s about 10 but I’m not really sure), likes to knit too, so I took him to Green Planet Yarn in Campbell. And we had a blast. I had known for a few years that there is a yarn shop in Campbell where you can go and sit and knit, and I’ve always wanted to go. I’m so glad I finally did. Now it turns out that Green Planet has only been there about three months, and it was another yarn shop that used to be on the same street, that closed some months ago. But that’s all right. I got to know the owner and some of the regulars, and OH MY GOSH they have the most scrumptious yarns. That’s right, scrumptious. Kaden bought some beautiful silk yarn and I got some delicious Inca cotton from Peru. I’ve already started what is going to be a beee-utiful cable-knit scarf for myself (that’s right, finally something for myself). It was so much fun. I went back today and hung out for a little while too. They know me now.

Number four: I can knit hats! I finished that checkerboard scarf and promptly gave it to my best friend as an early birthday present. So I was itching for a new project. Laurie Perry gives great easy instructions for a simple rollbrim hat in her book Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair, so I rode my bike to Michaels after work yesterday and bought some circular knitting needles and some double-ended needles. Perry recommends starting with the circular, and then when you have to decrease the stitches to come to the top of the head, switching to the double-ended. Well the circular ended up being the wrong length, so I just started with the double-ended (they let you knit in a circle by knitting from one needle to the next), and it’s actually not too bad! And today one of my new chums at the yarn shop showed me something called “magic loop” where you can pretend to shorten the cable on the circular needles. Anyways, I’m excited! I went to downtown San Jose today to have lunch with my dad, and I had pulled out the hat I was working on, and the Italian waitress got all excited because she didn’t know that Americans could knit. Haha

So yeah, life is good.

wheels

I love riding my bike. It is one of my favorite ways to get from point A to point B. Two days ago I rode my bike to work, something I do pretty often, and then I rode my bike to the library, another thing I do pretty often. But this is the first time I did the two together in one trip. Like, from home to work to library to home, in a nice triangle. I loved it!

I especially love riding my bike to the library. It combines three of my favorite things: biking, the library, and getting outside. So biking to the library is a great summer activity. You get some exercise, you scope the shelves to see if any good literature jumps out and grabs you, you get a chance to sit and read while munching on an energy bar (and my local library has a lovely little garden courtyard where I love to read), and in my case it’s a pretty easy ride home because it’s more-or-less downhill. You get endorphins AND some mental stimulation.

Granted, I am not an overachiever when it comes to bike riding. I’ve never been mountain biking, and I’ve never ridden more than a couple miles in one go. My bike is a pretty average 21-speed, neither a road bike nor a mountain bike, but something in between. And I don’t know any of the cyclist lingo. But my “pretty average” bike can get me to the places I go most often that don’t require too much cargo, that is, work and the library. Anywhere else I can usually jockey for one of the family cars.

But I would love to be one of those awesome people someday who have decent road bikes and ride them 10+ miles to work (or ride partway, take the train partway, etc.) every day. It doesn’t burn fossil fuels (conserving resources AND cutting down on pollution), it’s good exercise, it lowers traffic, and it’s a great way to experience the outdoors. City streets aren’t as much fun, but at least you’re not cooped up inside. The only drawback is I can’t listen to books on tape when I’m riding my bike. But it’s a great time to think.

And as far as exercise is concerned, just like biking, I am no overachiever. But that is why biking is so great. I have learned in past years that I have to trick myself into exercising, and biking, as a way to get from one place to another, is one of the most practical ways to do that. That and dancing, because dancing is just fun.