bike[s] boy[s] birthday[s]

Facebook tells me three of my friends are turning a year older today. Oddly enough [because I wasn't into bikes at all until a little over a year ago], all of them ride bikes.
There's the OCR 2, the Schwinn [plus wrecked road bike], and a fixed conversion...I mean Mark, Dan, and Jones.
And presents/hats/cookies to be given/sent/made. I know, I'm slacking...I've only been able to give presents to two out of the three; and I've known the one that's not getting anything [yet!] the longest.
And he reads this blog! But there will be a hat coming your way, Jones, this summer, and maybe even those Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies [still bookmarked for when you, Lauren, and I are running our bike shop/vintage store/bakery/cafe...or when we hang out again...or when you guys get married (!!!), whichever happens first]. I also sent Lauren a good amount of Herrell's hot fudge, so don't let her tell you any different. I'm sure I'll hear you guys fighting over exactly who finished the last of it, too.

I'm also delivering a giant cookie to Mark - one of the smartest and nicest kids I know. He's just become the Managing Editor of the Boston College Law Review [congrats!!!], and [voluntarily] sits next to me in Con Law, despite the fact that he's probably afraid my stupid is going to rub off on him. Get that brake fixed, dude, so we can go on rides. And by "go on rides" I mean we can start off together but you'll drop me faster than Britney got rid of her kids.
Dan already got cookies. But his band's playing a show tonight at O'Brien's. You should go.
Happy Birthday, guys...and I just realized...why haven't I gone on rides with any of you yet?!

red light means go

A predicted high of 45F today - yay for warm weather!
Yeah, I never thought I'd think 45F = "warm" but I'm so ready to peel off my Underarmour and fold it away until November. Snow isn't even pretty anymore, just slightly annoying. The gross brown heaps that it eventually turns into [and then gross brown water that cars like to splatter at me] doesn't really help make Boston winters any more appealing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for deferred gratification...just only when it applies to a goal that I can actually see. Desperately hoping for nicer weather that doesn't involve shards of ice flying in my face, enough layers to make me feel like I'm in a fat suit, and that embarrassing fogging up of my glasses whenever I enter a warmer room...is getting old.

I'm trying to be optimistic though; and even with all the snow yesterday, by early evening it was clear out. The lights strung up on the trees along Comm Ave were cute and pretty enough for even my beer soaked self to appreciate. I didn't get a picture though [I know, I really should have!], probably because I had no idea what I was doing at that point.
I ended up praying for a red light on my way home, hoping for an excuse to stop. I only hit one, and by the time I stumbled into my apartment, my face looked like a tiki torch.
I think I might have to train a little more for the beers + bikes shenanigans I'm mentally planning for the summer...

longing for yesterday

Biking through snow today after a day in the high 50s, getting splattered by a good number of cars on my way in, with only the promise of [bad] coffee at the end of my commute to make me feel sort of better...I'm seriously missing yesterday.
It was my first semi-lazy Sunday in a while, where I got to blow off everything for at least half the day. I even managed to blow off my own plans! Lazy won out over Sense of Obligation to go to the Bike Swap and Not Be an Anti-Social Hermit, resulting in me not getting any farther than Cambridge Bikes. And staying there for...over three hours...

In my defense, a lot of things got in the way. First, I met the spectacular RMM. Then, we got on the subject of ice cream cakes. And as everyone knows, you cannot peace out on a conversation involving ice cream cakes. It's just not allowed.
Okay, said conversation also involved strip clubs, butt acne, and cookies. Which is, you know, enough to keep me interested...but combine that with shiny, pretty, [pink] bike things, and it's a wonder I wasn't blatantly drooling.

I did get close though. All this talk of Bartley's in Harvard Square [which I keep saying I'll go to but never do because Veggie Planet always seems to win out], and watching Tom devour a burger a friend of his brought for him actually had me craving cow meat [despite not having eaten red meat in ages]. Right now, the thought of ground-up, masticated cow on a bun has my stomach audibly growling in the library [and it's not even close to lunch time yet].
Maybe hanging out [for hours] at Cambridge Bikes is not such a great idea always a good idea.

freddy v. jason

Despite hailing from the land of really twisted psychological thriller movies, I can't watch scary movies. Even the really cheesy fake ones. I end up lying in bed with all the lights on, terrified. I might be considered tough enough to brave the elements on my bike, but anything scarier than "Bambi" will make me wobbly-kneed, bursting into cold sweats, and have my bowels turning into liquid.
Yeah, I'm a huge baby.
So that's my excuse for not having seen this movie. At this point, I'm sure everyone's seen it, so I'd be left to watch it alone. And that's just unacceptable. At least if I want to get some sleep this week.
Ironically, this movie I've never seen had me up late, terrified that I wouldn't make a deadline. And then it had me pissed that I was messing up. And then it had me not working on my legal note because I was too worried about how smoothly the finishing would go.

But, it turned out better than expected, and it's not like I didn't have fun doing it. It was one of the most challenging, shoulder-cramping, blurry-vision inducing things I've done in a while. And the masochist in me loved every...single...frustrating...second of it.
This hat actually got me chattering - a sure sign that I'm excited about something. It had me asking the peeps over at Cambridge Bikes for creative input [4 slashes over 5, even though I'm aware Freddy has 5 claw-finger-things]. It had me showing off a half-finished brim to everyone on the internets...and being the kind of person that zealously guards her workspace, that's a big deal.

I already know one person who's called dibs on the hat, despite not having seen the finished product. He claims he's "gonna win that hat if it's the last thing [he] do[es]." I say everyone who reads this blog should get themselves down to Elm Street this Friday to make it that much harder for him to win. After all, isn't victory that much sweeter when it involves blood bikes, sweat, and tears?
Bring on the alleycats, Cambridge, and I'll bring the prize hats!
[See you at the afterparty!]

unproductive

Reasons why I'm currently being spectacularly unproductive:
1. It's gorgeous out today. Like I was sweating when I got to the library. At 9am when it opened. Shoot me now.
2. Five hours of sleep. I'm blaming Cambridge Bike's hat from hell for this one.
3. The idea of working in on my legal note all day. And being unable to motivate myself to work any faster.

4. The realization that I shouldn't be in the library/working/stressing out this much when I'm supposed to be on spring break.
5. That voice in the back of my head that's telling me that I won't be able to blow off all of Sunday, and that I'll be racing to get everything done.
6. Shitty coffee.
7. Oh, yeah, and Facebook.
[Note: I am looking forward to the Bike Swap that's happening tomorrow though. If you're in the Boston area, come check it out!]

hats off to hoffman

Last night was the first time I've finished more than a third of a beer in a looooong time.
Actually it was the first time for a lot of things: staying at a bike shop after closing, keeping my bike at closed bike shop to get it later, and grabbing beers [or in my case half a beer] with the bike mechanics I pretend to work with/bother all the time.
It was the first time I've actually seen Hoffman on a bike, too [doing backward circles!]. And might be the last time for a while - yesterday's festivities were due to it being Hoffman's last day at IBC. I had promised to make him a hat for his wife [the one with the bunny on it], and after learning on Sunday that Thursday was going to be Hoffman's last day, I had to make one for him as well.

Okay, it's not like I'm never going to see him again; he's moving to Landry's up on Comm Ave. Still, it's sad, and we're all going to miss him tons. The left hand workspace on the first floor of IBC just won't be the same without his stickered out tool boxes. It just...makes me sad.
I'm sure he'll miss us as well. I'm sure deep, deep down inside, he'll always think IBC > Landry's. Which is why I left open the option of repping IBC.

He promised [although after beers and a couple shots] to wear the hat today to his first Landry's staff meeting. He's going to make everyone jealous - I mean, how can he not? It looks pretty killer on him:

And yes this is before we got trashed. I left mostly sober [after my first time in a closed shop!], but the ride back got my blood pumping beer and I was in a state of slightly-woozy-and-those-lights-are-too-bright drunkenness by the time I got home.
Most fun I've had in a while, even though it was a goodbye party for Hoffman. I did take pictures, though, and as Jeremy said, "pics are totes going up on Facebook [and Flickr]."