a charming commuter

My favorite black ballet flats, a vintage Dior shirt-dress, a pair of square gold earrings repossessed from my Mom, a vintage dark green Loewe handbag from the same source, and black leggings.
Oh, and my favorite Miu Miu shades.
Plus a bright red cruiser.
Rides to school, the store, the coffee shop are effortlessly stylish.
Yeah, right.
The [sad] reality actually consists of layers of socks, Underarmour, fleece zip-ups, and some legit Pearl Izumi gloves. Sweat also makes a consistent appearance; and while I may be able to get up Heartbreak Hill with a laptop and some casebooks on my back, the gasping for breath at the top of that hill is definitely not stylish.
Although, to be fair, this would probably totally clash on a red cruiser:

My Mom, paranoid that my bike commuting will eventually get me killed, bought me a commuter safety charm. Lucky me that it was dark green, matches my bike, and is small enough to fit underneath the seat without me having to raise it.

bosox fever

Good thing I'm not a Bosox fan.
I'm not sure I can take the intensity of it all; and despite the fact that I barely manage to get dressed every day (i.e., that I've completely let myself go), I can't/won't wear the Bosox hat and t-shirt combo. Particularly if the former is pink.
I know that sounds hypocritical, almost. Like I'll unashamedly get every pink component I can get my hands on for my bike but I refuse to wear that particular color. But the pink Bosox hat is peculiar - it's like dressing up a butchy lesbian to hide the obvious from the relatives: It doesn't make anything more "feminine" and it just smacks of [imposed] traditional gender norms/roles.
Besides, I'm not obsessed with the Sox enough to rock any Bosox attire. And a friend should be very glad I'm not.

Otherwise, I would be keeping this, instead of handing it over to one of my first bike friends. And while the hat gave me enough grief to qualify for "I would only do this for a friend I really really really value" type work (and it's definitely on the list of "things I don't think I really want to do, again"), I can rest assured that it's going to be loved (and worn). Enjoy the hat, E!

noodle legs

It's the first time I've been downtown in what seems like forever. Battling the wind and cold, I found myself at Hot Tomatoes, having lunch with some fellow fixed riders.
With great company, I got to eat the yummiest grilled cheese and tomato soup. We even got free cookies!
I mean, it all came back to bite me in the ass when I was trying to pedal up the hills on Beacon Street on a full stomach (and headwind!), but it was still loads of fun.
Of course I showed up wearing one of my hats - an old school one though, one that's missing this:

They're not perfect, but then again, nothing that I do really is. It's better than sending them out into the world totally naked though, right?

epic drop-off

Some things are worth working for.
And some things are worth waiting for.
And still other things are worth braving the wind and being reduced to walking your bike along the bike lane on the Mass Ave bridge because you just can't stay on the damn thing while the wind rips half your hair out of your ponytail and you clutch your scarf to your chest while snot dribbles down your face.
It was probably one of my most unsexiest moments but well worth it. I dropped off 10 hats at Cambridge Bicycle in exchange for one of the sexiest things I have ever seen:

Yeah, there's probably something truly neurotic (and kind of disgustingly consumeristic...if that's even a word) about finding a bike part sexy. But as of right now, I'll take this over any man.

early accomplishments

I just slept for 17 hours straight.
Yeah, 17.
But at least I got this done before I passed out:

I started it around New Year's when I ran out of bias tape for the hats and the prospect of not actually doing anything for the next 3 days was too overwhelming.
The shirt was simple to put together, the embroidery (by hand, people), not so much. Still, about 3 solid days of work...just enough to tide me over.

(sorry about the dark blurry pictures...)