Pop Quiz

What does this



minus this



result in?

a) A long, not-so-romantic walk along the interstate with my wife and a gas can

b) An infinite number of "I told you so" comments

or

c) Sputtering and lurching, but providentially only 0.5 miles from the next exit and much rejoicing after coasting into town with 0.065 gallons to spare.

How I Survive Busy Season

I eat tupperware.

From 2010-01-03

Actually, Pati spent a weekend cooking up a ton of soup and a few pans of lasagna for me so I can just grab and go in the morning. These got transported to the freezer downstairs, but I think we counted 50-60 meals total. Best. Wife. Ever.

Weeks 63 & 64 with a nugget for Kyle

Week 63
Monday - Car (AM & PM carpool)
Tuesday - Car & Bicycle (AM Carpool)
Wednesday - Car & Bicycle (AM Carpool)
Thursday - Car (AM & PM carpool)
Friday - Car (AM & PM carpool)

I played the role of hero and villain in two separate events this week. I'd like to end this post on a positive note, so I'll start with the villain piece.

Villain
About half way into my ride home on Wednesday night, my pannier fell off the bike for the second time in under a mile. An appropriate response would probably have been in the range between mild frustration and slight agitation, but I must have felt compelled to take it up a notch. I immediately hoppped off the bike, grabbed the frame with both hands, and tossed it with all the strength that a red-faced adrenaline charged knucklehead can muster, launching it into the snow pack right off the bike trail.

This is a textbook example of a Proverbs 29:11 fool, and I immediately wondered what I had hoped to accomplish. Thankfully, no damage was done to the bike, and as I thought about what I had done, I imagined my friend Kyle watching it all, since he has been party to the majority of similar over-reactions waged during my formative years. I had to laugh and wish that Kyle had taken it all in, not just because it would have given him a charge or that I needed someone to call me an idiot, but because it's been too long since we've hung out together. Either way, I'm still not sure if it's symptomatic of a character flaw or just busy season stress working itself out.

Hero
Okay, maybe hero is an overstatement, and it was really more like being in the right place at the right time. Either way, here goes...

I decided to ride with Pati on Thursday morning, even though she had an errand to run in Edina (an obvious detour from our usual route). About a mile or so on 62 West we both watched the hood slowly float upwards, drift back down, and then slam back onto the windshield, obstructing our vision in rush hour traffic. We hunched down in our seats and peered through the half-moon opening between the base of the hood and the bottom of the windshield until Pati pulled safely to the left side of the road. I climbed through the back seat to get out of the car and bring the hood back down.

Pati was a little shaken up (reasonably so) so I got in the driver's seat to finish the drive to Edina. We rode in silence and I considered how our event unfolded in sharp contrast to how it might be portrayed if there were a movie made of our lives: tons of screaming people, the car spinning 360 to 720 degrees, horns honking, cars piling up, etc. I was glad for a minimal dose of morning drama and was especially glad that I had come along for the ride since as it turns out, Pati left her cell phone at home.

Week 64

Monday - Car
Tuesday - Car
Wednesday - Car
Thursday - Car
Friday - Car

I'm back at the client site where the infamous shower incident occurred. I felt a cold coming on last week, so didn't ride at all, but I'd like to get at least one half-way commute registered this week.

I have another James and Pati car tale from this weekend, but I'll save that for later this week.