Tail Recursive

Ok. So, it would seem it has been a while since I last posted anything here… certainly nothing since Georgie died. It has been an eventful few months, but I will only mention a couple of things here.

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Over the past couple of months, I’ve been noticing some odd things going on… an accelerated heart rate, general nervousness and irritability (more so than usual, that is), and a lot of anxiety (to the point where I have trouble breathing). I was putting a lot of this down to general work-related stress (and I’m sure some of it is… combined with lack of exercise), but then I did a little monitoring of my behavior and habits and realized something startling: with the exception of morning orange juice, I was drinking only caffeinated beverages. Basically, I’ve been saturating my bloodstream with caffeine; and while it’s really neat to be able to see into the future and be the kwisatch haderach and all, I doubt it’s worth the medical side-effects.
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Several of my friends are posting about books that they have read recently. I’ve decided to be a sheep and add a side-bar widget to my blog to show what I am currently reading. Unfortunately, that means changing my theme a little, but that’s ok. Expect the look to change a bit as I settle on something reasonable. Click on the book to find out what I think of it… assuming I post a "review."

I rode into work Friday for the first time since my crash (I’ve been trying to keep the pressure off my wrist, since it’s still bothering me a little). I managed to make it to work and back without embarrassing myself too much. The big news, though, is that Old Blue now has 500 miles on it! I will have to have some sort of party for it.

By the way, here’s a quick story on why I like my bike shop. I had to have my front wheel replaced after the crash, and I didn’t notice until a week later that they had forgotten to transfer the little magnet thingie for the bike computer when they replaced the wheel. The following week (so, two weeks after the repair), I went into the bike shop. Before I could even open my mouth, the mechanic looked up at me, said “magnet!” and handed me a replacement. It’s nice to find a business these days where they know you.

Yes, it’s ironic that the very week I choose to write about how I’m biking to work for the health benefits is the week I decide to crash my bike on the way home. Yay me!

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Not that this is going to matter too much to anyone, but I thought I would share that I am finally getting off of my (now all-too-substantial) butt to get some real exercise. I have started commuting on my bike. For the first few weeks, I only rode in once a week, but now I’m up to twice a week and am aiming for three times a week. I live around 8 miles from work, and the ride is pretty flat, so it’s a pretty easy ride (and very relaxing in the morning, when there are few cars on the road). There are also showers and locker facilities for people who do the alternate-commute thing, so I’m fresh and clean when I get into the office (a big plus).

So far, I’ve done the commute about eight times, which means I’ve biked about 128 miles just to work and back. At my car’s average gas mileage, I’ve saved about 3 gallons of gas or around $9. Big money! Big money! Of course, the money and the gas savings aren’t why I’m doing this. I’m doing this for my health and because I enjoy it. I am noticing a rapid improvement from all the biking, by the way: I’m less winded on arrival than when I began, and I’ve moved to a faster (harder) “cruising” gear. In general, it’s becoming easier as I start to reverse the effects of a sedentary lifestyle.