back to...work?

Yo yoooooooo, I’m back from my 72 hour benderrrrrrrrrrrr.
Just kidding. Although there might have been a mini bender in between finishing up finals, packing up to move into a new apartment, packing more stuff into a small suitcase, and catching a bus down to NYC. Okay said bender might have only consisted of drinking less than 2 inches of beer and getting wasted as a result BUT THAT’S KIND OF CALLED A BENDER IN MY BOOK.
So that’s what I’ve been up to, mostly for lack of a better thing to do with all this “free time” I’m suddenly finding myself with. Because somehow “free time” doesn’t translate to more cycling, just budding alcoholism. And somehow, more work.

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Because after 48 hours of attempting to pack everything I own into a bunch of boxes, I needed a break and decided that working in a bike shop would totally hit the spot. And you know, I kind of really wanted to show off one of my new outfits.
So Saturday morning I was back behind a bike shop counter - at the front of the shop this time - and pretending to know what I was doing or what exactly was going on. Chad and Kyle gave me the scoop on rentals and before I knew it, I was hauling Kona Humus from the basement, gushing about how much I love my Baileyworks, and buying pretzels for Jared. All in a really sick vintage Sportful jersey that I’ve been hiding since I snagged it off Ebay a while back. I mean, yeah, sure I risked getting dirt and chain lube and grease all over it but whatever placates my vanity, you know?

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The weather being pretty frickin’ gorgeous, the shop was packed. Waves of people would stream in, meaning that burritos, salads, and breakfast sandwiches had to be eaten in stealthy bites behind the counter. Running back and forth, bringing things down to the basement or up from the back of the shop meant that there was hardly any time to notice hunger. Until, of course, Ish and Chad’s lunch appeared from S’macNYC. Soft macaroni elbows blanketed in gooey cheese with a delicately burnt cover of casein. I was drooling. Actively.
“Good thing I’m lactose intolerant,” I said.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I even prefer my pizza without cheese.”
“...That’s like preferring your men without penises,” Ish informed me.
Touche.

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Hunger finally stoked, I grabbed my apple but with people still coming through the door, it got eaten in about 5 different sittings. The rest of lunch was a Chocolate Peanut Butter Luna Protein Bar that I managed to get to around 3pm. Those 12 grams of yummy chocolate-covered, Breast Cancer Fund supporting protein tided me over for another hour and a half of scurrying around and powered my nonexistent biceps through carrying more bikes up and down the stairs. And with a good dose of Iron and B vitamins from that Luna bar, I think I even did it with a smile on my face.
My 2/3 of a day complete, I sauntered back home around 4.30, ate some yogurt and passed the fuck out. A few hours later, I was back in the shop and a few hours after that, back on the bike. The last which proved to be possibly more painful than the last exam I took.
Well...almost.