These past couple of weeks have been insane. Between graduating (!!!), moving, entertaining family, working, and taking a crazy intense review course-- I have been going going going and am just about gone. I did not expect in any way to be so overwhlemed once the door of academia had been closed!
Lets talk about bikes:
I have been biking everywhere because I am too poor to take public transportation anymore (it's actually true this time-- I frequently refer to my lack of finances but have only been concerned due to the extreme debt that I knew I was facing post gradutation. I have now graduated and while I don't have to start paying back said debt quite yet, rent is a very real thing that sucks me dry once a month, and I spend the rest of the month praying that nobody cashes a check or that I don't need to eat a lot. I have already bounced one check and it is one of my more heartfelt prayers that it doesn't happen again-- as it is a $27 fee each time. That blows!). Anyways-- day one of biking I ventured off the sidewalk and onto the road, because that is what real bikers do, and the badgering of my peers finally broke me down. They are called sideWALKs for a reason and bike lanes are there for a reason. So I strapped on my ancient (honestly-- it is yellow with age) helmet and rode on the street. It was magnificent. Very exhilirating and crazy-- dodging vehicles and timing the lights.. I really enjoyed it. I felt like a real cyclist; I'd become a member of some unofficial society. It was wonderful. I continued biking to work, to my review class, to wherever I needed to go-- on the street with my helmet on. It's honestly been really great and I've saved at least $20 if not more from avoiding public transportation.
..but..
Today as I pedaled home after the last day of a particularly grueling class, I had a bad experience. I was doing well and was focused on the traffic, it's busy at that time, and I was watching the cars that were parked along the street to make sure nothing exciting happened with them. All of the sudden-- out of NOWHERE AT ALL-- a door to an SUV flies open just in time for me to COLLIDE into it and go soaring over my handlebars, over the DOOR and into the middle of the busy Chicago street (with a sirening vehicle approaching, no less!). In the long minutes of my flight, I heard the siren-- so upon landing I thought Holy cow, I'm going to get hit by an ambulance, too?!?! This energized me to JUMP up and feebly (yet quickly) hobble to the sidewalk where I shrugged off the poor man that caused the fiasco who could manage 'are you okay?' and 'I'm so sorry, miss.' And checked the battle wounds. No blood was GUSHING out, so I started walking. My knee wouldn't bend properly, no way was I going to get back on the horse. (haha, ironhorse..) I was hyperventilating and within twenty labored paces, bawling. What does one do when they cannot breathe due to extreme pain and fluid loss related to excessive tears? One calls their mother. My poor mom picks up the phone to "....(gulp)....(hiccup)....i......(wheeze)......got....(hiccup)....dooooooooored!!!!" That woman puts up with too much! But I am so grateful as I finally caught my breath and realized I was not dead or close to it, all of my limbs (while very bruised and swollen) were present, and I was walking. The whole thing just scared the living day lights out of me! So here I sit, my left knee is three times as large as it should be, my palms are raw, and my hip is bruised (in a petechiae fashion-- exciting!), too. But it all makes for a good story, I guess, and I am quite fortunate to walk away from a vehicle-bicycle collision. I am so glad I wore my helmet, as I do recall my head hitting the ground rather forcefully, and there's a great scuff on my historic helmet. Perhaps it is not as useless as I orignally may have thought.. perhaps the ugly factor is worth it. I dont' want to think about what that 'scuff' would have done to my scalp.
So, I guess not a lot of that is triathlon related... but it seems appropriate.
I finally made it to swimming training last night. It was interesting. They split all of the triathlon-ers into two groups-- Purple and White. The Purple Group are those who have completed the triathlon before, White is the rookies. So, I went to the swimming for the White Group, as I have never competed in the triathlon, and was mortified. Not only have these people never done a triathlon, they have never submersed themselves in a body of water larger than their bathtub. This was not a training session, it was a 'how-to-swim' session. This is all well and good, as learning to swim is essential in triathlon preparation. However, I know how to swim and while I am not the best of fastest on any level, I do know how to swim. So, I got the 'okay' to attend the training for the Purple Group in the future which is very encouraging.
I am starting to get concerned about fundraising. I had originally planned on starting the fundraising campaign immediately upon graduation-- I thought I'd have all the time in the world. As I previously stated, that is far from the case. Almost two weeks have passed since the end of my undergrad career and I have yet to embark upon the fundraising journey. I am nervous as I don't know the best way to approach it. The Lymphoma and Leukemia Society has grown to be something that I am very serious and enthusiastic about promoting and helping, and I want to fundraise correctly in order to get the best potential response. I worry that if I approach it wrong or something that I will ruin my chance of letting people realize what a wonderful opportunity this is to donate to a truly wonderful organization. Suggesstions are always welcome.
That is all for now, I think. I am waiting to hear if I can get a ride to the bike training that is scheduled for Saturday. It is in the suburbs and the El doesn't go there. It'd be a 20 mile ride to go train some more, then a 20 mile ride back if I chose to ride the IronHorse there, and I don't think that'd be a good idea at this point. So we'll see.
Lets talk about bikes:
I have been biking everywhere because I am too poor to take public transportation anymore (it's actually true this time-- I frequently refer to my lack of finances but have only been concerned due to the extreme debt that I knew I was facing post gradutation. I have now graduated and while I don't have to start paying back said debt quite yet, rent is a very real thing that sucks me dry once a month, and I spend the rest of the month praying that nobody cashes a check or that I don't need to eat a lot. I have already bounced one check and it is one of my more heartfelt prayers that it doesn't happen again-- as it is a $27 fee each time. That blows!). Anyways-- day one of biking I ventured off the sidewalk and onto the road, because that is what real bikers do, and the badgering of my peers finally broke me down. They are called sideWALKs for a reason and bike lanes are there for a reason. So I strapped on my ancient (honestly-- it is yellow with age) helmet and rode on the street. It was magnificent. Very exhilirating and crazy-- dodging vehicles and timing the lights.. I really enjoyed it. I felt like a real cyclist; I'd become a member of some unofficial society. It was wonderful. I continued biking to work, to my review class, to wherever I needed to go-- on the street with my helmet on. It's honestly been really great and I've saved at least $20 if not more from avoiding public transportation.
..but..
Today as I pedaled home after the last day of a particularly grueling class, I had a bad experience. I was doing well and was focused on the traffic, it's busy at that time, and I was watching the cars that were parked along the street to make sure nothing exciting happened with them. All of the sudden-- out of NOWHERE AT ALL-- a door to an SUV flies open just in time for me to COLLIDE into it and go soaring over my handlebars, over the DOOR and into the middle of the busy Chicago street (with a sirening vehicle approaching, no less!). In the long minutes of my flight, I heard the siren-- so upon landing I thought Holy cow, I'm going to get hit by an ambulance, too?!?! This energized me to JUMP up and feebly (yet quickly) hobble to the sidewalk where I shrugged off the poor man that caused the fiasco who could manage 'are you okay?' and 'I'm so sorry, miss.' And checked the battle wounds. No blood was GUSHING out, so I started walking. My knee wouldn't bend properly, no way was I going to get back on the horse. (haha, ironhorse..) I was hyperventilating and within twenty labored paces, bawling. What does one do when they cannot breathe due to extreme pain and fluid loss related to excessive tears? One calls their mother. My poor mom picks up the phone to "....(gulp)....(hiccup)....i......(wheeze)......got....(hiccup)....dooooooooored!!!!" That woman puts up with too much! But I am so grateful as I finally caught my breath and realized I was not dead or close to it, all of my limbs (while very bruised and swollen) were present, and I was walking. The whole thing just scared the living day lights out of me! So here I sit, my left knee is three times as large as it should be, my palms are raw, and my hip is bruised (in a petechiae fashion-- exciting!), too. But it all makes for a good story, I guess, and I am quite fortunate to walk away from a vehicle-bicycle collision. I am so glad I wore my helmet, as I do recall my head hitting the ground rather forcefully, and there's a great scuff on my historic helmet. Perhaps it is not as useless as I orignally may have thought.. perhaps the ugly factor is worth it. I dont' want to think about what that 'scuff' would have done to my scalp.
So, I guess not a lot of that is triathlon related... but it seems appropriate.
I finally made it to swimming training last night. It was interesting. They split all of the triathlon-ers into two groups-- Purple and White. The Purple Group are those who have completed the triathlon before, White is the rookies. So, I went to the swimming for the White Group, as I have never competed in the triathlon, and was mortified. Not only have these people never done a triathlon, they have never submersed themselves in a body of water larger than their bathtub. This was not a training session, it was a 'how-to-swim' session. This is all well and good, as learning to swim is essential in triathlon preparation. However, I know how to swim and while I am not the best of fastest on any level, I do know how to swim. So, I got the 'okay' to attend the training for the Purple Group in the future which is very encouraging.
I am starting to get concerned about fundraising. I had originally planned on starting the fundraising campaign immediately upon graduation-- I thought I'd have all the time in the world. As I previously stated, that is far from the case. Almost two weeks have passed since the end of my undergrad career and I have yet to embark upon the fundraising journey. I am nervous as I don't know the best way to approach it. The Lymphoma and Leukemia Society has grown to be something that I am very serious and enthusiastic about promoting and helping, and I want to fundraise correctly in order to get the best potential response. I worry that if I approach it wrong or something that I will ruin my chance of letting people realize what a wonderful opportunity this is to donate to a truly wonderful organization. Suggesstions are always welcome.
That is all for now, I think. I am waiting to hear if I can get a ride to the bike training that is scheduled for Saturday. It is in the suburbs and the El doesn't go there. It'd be a 20 mile ride to go train some more, then a 20 mile ride back if I chose to ride the IronHorse there, and I don't think that'd be a good idea at this point. So we'll see.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment