Time's Up!

Say it ain't so. Say it ain't time to leave the states and head back to Taiwan. I've had a fantastic time...it's so great seeing family, spending time in my own house, sewing up a storm, and watching all kinds of home improvement shows. Even the cold weather didn't dampen my spirits...most days had sunshine and blue sky...and the three times I shoveled snow was a breeze because the snow was so light and powdery.

I head for the big city of North Platte tomorrow...lunch with Russ and his mom and brother, then he'll deliver me to the hotel so I can spend the night. My flight is at 7:15, and it's much easier to spend the night instead of traipsing to the airport in the wee hours of the morning from Gothenburg. Besides, it's actually easier to say goodbye to my folks and Russ the day before I leave.

I am NOT looking forward to the flights, but it looks like the weather should be decent, so I hope it goes more smoothly than my last flight. And in just five short months, I get to do it all over again. Next time I may take the Singapore night flight and spend the night at LAX. Doesn't that sound like fun????

Overnight in Denver. Again.

Why people think travel is glamorous is beyond me. And travel during the holidays? Stupid. But always interesting. I (along with fellow TAS teachers) left Taipei on Friday, December 21 on United's non-stop service to San Francisco. Nice flight. Somewhere around ten hours. Slept a couple times, no more than half an hour each time.

The San Francisco airport is always crowded, but they finally have enough personnel so getting through security is far smoother than it used to be. I cleared customs very quickly, and got my offical welcome "home" which is always fun. Got my suitcase, which surprisingly, wasn't the last one to arrive. Once we got rid of the suitcases, Mary and I proceeded to our next gate. Started out at gate 80, moved to gate 88, then to 82, on to 83, and back to 82. Lots of flights had been delayed because of fog in Chicago, so they kept moving us from gate to gate in hopes that they could get us out. Finally, two hours after our scheduled departure, we were ready to board. I am a premier member, so I always board in seating area 1. Handed the lady my pass, the machine beeped, and she told me I had to wait because my seat was being repaired. Great. That didn't take long, though, and once we finally got airborne, the flight was just fine.

Once we got into Denver, I still had an hour and a half before my next flight, but Mary was probably going to miss her flight to St. Louis. I don't know yet, since I deplaned before she did and I didn't wait around for her.

Off I went, through busy DIA, to Great Lakes in concourse A. Quick check of the monitors, yep, flight is on time. Checked in. Heard flights being cancelled. Mine, still on time, so I went to get something to eat. Back to the gate. Flight now delayed. Finally around 9:00 (three hours after original scheduled departure) the flight was cancelled because our crew had timed out. We were promised a special plane in the morning, so some of us opted to go to hotels, while others headed for the car rental area so they could drive 5 hours to their destination.

I think we got to the hotel around 11:30, and I got to sleep around 1:00 and slept for a good four and a half hours. Not bad. We took the 6:30 shuttle to the airport and cleared security very quickly. I barely had time to take off my shoes and get my clear bag of travel liquids out of my carry on before I was at the head of a line. From there, we headed to our gate. Told to sit down by a very gruff Great Lakes male employee. The smiling female employee told us she was trying to find us. Great. One gentleman told us they might not have the flight for us after all. Great.

I waited a bit, then asked the lady, and she said we had a plane but no crew. Great. However, after a normal amount of wait time, the crew was found, and we had a beautiful flight to North Platte, Nebraska. It was cold, but absolutely clear and beautiful. What could happen now?

Oh, no suitcase? The nice (they are all friendly as heck in North Platte) attendant emailed Denver Great Lakes, but got no response. Called Denver. No response. The normal flight would arrive in an hour and a half, and the suitcase may or may not be on it. We live half an hour from the airport, Russ had been there the night before waiting in vain for me, and we didn't want to drive home and then back, so we had some coffee (Russ) and tea (me), then made a quick trip to Walmart. Back at the airport, they were busy checking everybody in for the departing flight, so I didn't ask anyone if they had any information for me. Instead we chatted with a lady who had the most gorgeous black and tan cocker spaniel while we waited for the flight, and hopefully my suitcase, to arrive.

And it did. Amazing. Moral of the story...have patience and be kind to airline employees. And stop traveling during the holidays.

Oh yeah, why the title "Overnight in Denver. Again."??? Two years ago Russ and I had been delayed in San Francisco long enough that we missed the flight from Denver to North Platte. We were told we were booked on the next morning's flight so we headed to a hotel. At the airport the next morning, we couldn't clear security because we didn't have the proper reboarding passes, and after long discussions with Great Lakes, ended up renting a car to drive back because the flights were all full that day and the next. I did get reimbursed for all expenses, plus a little extra from United because they so royally messed up.

Moral of that story. Have patience with airline employees, write detailed letters to United. And stop traveling during the holidays.

Contrast

There have been some good storms already in Nebraska. Russ has, as he said, "gotten to know my dad's snow blower intimately." He was grousing pretty good about the cold, snow, and ice, but even he had to admit there was beauty in the ice. The top two pictures are ones he took on a morning that dawned crystal clear with a brilliant azure sky.




This is a photo I took a month or so ago. Nice contrast with the snow photos, right? Where would you rather be? In the cold of the midwest, or the warmth of Asia? Me, I'll take the snow. The cold. The ice storms. The changes of seasons. The wide open highways. The ultra-friendly neighbors who snowblow your sidewalks. (that seems to be Russ this year!) I'll get my wish soon...just three more days and I'm off to the cold clime for the Christmas holiday. Can't ask for much more than that.

Odd place, this Taiwan

Sunday, November 25 was a strange bike riding day. I was soloing, as I normally do on Sundays, so I headed out to do a River Loop ride. A nice ride that David and I used to do regularly. The route is from Tienmu to Guandu, then up and over the red bridge. Once over the bridge, I rode the bike path along the river. The first picture is of the bike path from Tienmu to Guandu, a nice stretch that can be incredibly busy.


This photo is near the end of the bike path on the Bali side, not too far from the pedestrian bridge.



This photo is taken from the same spot, just looking the opposite direction. I have always loved this bridge.




Once over the pedestrian bridge, the route then goes to Dadaocheng Wharf. On this day, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, there was a bike rally/show with hundreds of people milling around. Sometimes these crowds drive me crazy, other times, like this day, I don't really mind them.




The strangest sight on this day were these singers dressed as native Americans. Singing Mandarin songs. In front of a sign promoting bike riding. Odd place, this Taiwan.

Thanksgiving Day

As has been the custom for the past nine years, Thanksgiving lunch was enjoyed at Ralph and Joyce's, with a good circle of friends. It's a potluck, with Joyce providing the turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Carol's standby of sweet potato casserole always hits the spot, and I provided my now famous Snicker-Pineapple dessert.

This year was the first without Doug and Judy, who retired to Kansas, and Russ, who is back in the states this year. Glenn and Patricia were also unable to make this year's festivities because Glenn's 32 year old son had died suddenly of a blood infection. They were back in Colorado with family. Greg and Candace were also missing in action, Greg was home sick with a nasty flu that took his voice away for a week.

Joyce is an avid quilter and this picture showcases her recently completed journal quilt that she started a number of years ago. Each piece of fabric is different, if I remember correctly, there are about 400 different pieces. No...that sounds like way too many. She had written, in beautiful cursive, events that occured each day in one complete year, and included a ton of photographs printed on fabric. I am amazed at the amount of work she has in this quilt. One of these days I may be inspired by Joyce and start hand quilting mine again!

Karen's First Time up the Ramp!

Saturday, November 17, found Karen J., Gretchen, Carol, and me out for a sanguine Saturday ride. While waiting for people to show at TAS, this guy stopped to chat with one of our security guards. Since he had bikes in the back, I had to snap a shot. This is the pose he struck after I gestured to him that I wanted to take his picture.


We decided to head for Bali since Gretchen hadn't been there yet. Karen J. led out in fine fashion, and Gretchen, being still new to the paths, stayed close on Karen's pedals. I took up the rear with Carol. Karen and Gretchen didn't stop until they got to the old Guandu bike shop, and from there we decided to forgo the ride to Tanshui and the normal ferry ride, and instead, head directly to Bali over the Guandu Bridge. Karen J. put her gears low and made it up the ramp for the first time ever. Good going! Of course, on the other side, we had to stop for the ubiquitous celebratory photos. The first is of Carol, Karen, and Gretchen, and I got to be in the second!



While we were congratulating Karen on her climbing success, we noticed a nice young man who appeared to want to visit with us. We didn't take the time then, but after Karen (who once again rabbited ahead of all of us) stopped to wait, he and she exchanged pleasantries. Turns out he (Roger) was just finishing up a tour around the island of Taiwan, and had also recently completed five months of cycling in New Zealand. We really do meet some interesting people out on the bikes here.

Wind, Hills, and Walkers

Today was a solo Sunday, so I thought I'd head for the hills a bit. I rode up to Psycho Squirrel Bridge, back down to the National Palace Museum, then back up to Psycho Squirrel for a second time. The elevation gain to the bridge is about 850 feet. In about three miles. It's a decent climb and I breathe hard each time I climb it. The picture of the creek is past the National Palace Museum before the girl's school.
Once down to the National Palace, I headed over to the bike path (oops, atop Piglet Bridge I looked down and saw about 1,000 or so walkers enjoying walking day. Thanks for that, guys.) You have to look closely at the photo to see the snaking line of walkers.


Since the bike path was out of commission for bikers, I went out to WenLin Road with traffic, thought about heading up the hill to Peitou, changed my mind when the wind nearly blew me sideways, so back to Dexing, Chung Shan, Cheng Chung, Shidong (right at Takishamaya) u-turn and safely to the apartment. This was one of those days with high highs and low lows...highs from the climbs and descents, lows from the idjits and weather. Darn near kissed the ground when I reached the safety of my apartment.

Breakfast Ride

Although Saturday was AGAIN a windy day in Taipei, Carol joined Karen and I for a very leisurely ride, ending with breakfast at Wendel's German Backeri. We had originally planned on going to Jake's for pancakes, but Wendel's is easier to get to, plus we could sit outside and keep a close eye on the bikes.

These are my hash browns...look pretty nice decorated with fresh tomato and parsley, don't they? They were pretty tasty, and went quite well with fresh orange juice and a soft-boiled egg.


Karen's breakfast is beautiful and it's even healthy.



Uh, yep, this is my empty plate. Breakfast went down easily.



Wendel's is a nice place, the outdoor area was recently redone, and is filled with lush vegetation and has lots of places to sit and enjoy good food.

Dinner at Jesse's

Friday after school, Karen J. and I joined a large group of mostly new (and some from last year) young teachers for a "get out of Tienmu" night to Jesse's, a famous local establishment in the Yangminshan hills. I had been there once last year with Ralph and Joyce, and then, as now, the first course was a dish of pleasantly spiced peanuts, which tested one's chopstick dexterity. I was pleased to note, that although I rarely use chopsticks now, I dropped nary a peanut. These little morsels are habit forming and one tends to fill up before the rest of the courses start magically appearing.

Donna, smiling here as she holds a plate of sesame chicken, is a new upper school counselor this year. She has joined us on some of our Saturday morning biking expeditions, and usually DOES wear a smile like this. I found the sesame chicken to be flavorful, but the one piece I ate was tough and chewy. I wouldn't order this dish again.


Christine, a new substitute, and Karen are viewing the flaming beef. Yep, I know what you are thinking. It's shaped like a bird, it should be poultry of some sort. That's what I thought, too.


Anyway, this dish comes out with flaming salt packed on each side of the foil packet, and when the flame goes out, it is ready to open and enjoy. It was ok, spiced well, with thin slices of beef and vegetables.


Lynn, a lower school ESL teacher who has been here for seven years, is dishing up some of the remains of one of Jesse's signature dishes, spicy eggplant. My tablemates all enjoyed this dish, I tried it, but just couldn't get past the texture (can you say mush???) of the eggplant.


Finally, the fruit, signaling the end of dinner. In between the peanuts and this fruit, there was sesame chicken, pineapple shrimp, (my favorite) beef, two different fishes, a strange-looking tofu dish, and of course, rice. I had stopped eating long before the fruit, but nevertheless, it was a welcome sight.

This is Greg and Christine. As said earier, Christine is a substitute, who has recently taken over the middle school "School Within a School" program. Her husband, Greg, is participating in intensive Mandarin classes, and will be working at our psuedo-embassy when those are completed. All in all, it was a nice enough evening, but I don't plan another foray with a group that large for a long, long time.

Take a Look

I can't believe the comments I get about the "Take a Look" mirror that is attached to my sunglasses. People on scooters, people on foot, and especially people on bikes constantly stop me and want to see what it is.

Last Saturday found me surprisingly all alone for a bike ride since Karen P. was on her way to the states for Space Camp, Gretchen was on her way to Taryoko Gorge, Donna was proctoring SAT's, Chen Li was recovering from eye surgery, Claire was helping movers pack up Mary Biss' apartment, (definitely NOT a fun day for her) Karen J. had overslept, Jeanne and Craig went out for a car ride (huh??) and the rest of our sometimes Saturday riders were busy or sleeping.

I decided I would head toward the zoo, and just go as far as I felt like going. Before I set out, I did come home to grab my iPod so I could enjoy some uplifting music. So, off I went, fighting cross and head winds, but it is Taiwindywan, so what was new? As I reached the end of the Jingfu Bike Path (about 23 miles from my starting point) I had to get off the bike for two reasons. One, there was a teeming crowd of youngsters and adult chaperones so thick that I couldn't make my way through to the exit.

And two, the entrance/exit is made in such a way that you have to get off the bike to maneuver it through. Instead of going all the way to the zoo, once I got off the path and onto the streets, sanity prevailed and I turned around and went back to the bike path. The streets in Muzha were insane with scooters and buses. One bus came too close even for me!

So, back on the path, I went left for a change instead of right, so I came out just behind a group of three bikers. Said hello, then went on past them. At one point I had a nice descent, so I got up a bit of speed...and so did one of the previously mentioned bikers. He got a good guffaw out of the fact that he caught up with me. That didn't last, though, as I soon left him in my dust. I stopped at Dadaocheng Wharf for a break and to stretch because my knee was wailing a bit, and who showed up and wanted to chat? The three bikers, of course. They were curious about the mirror (see I did get back to my original topic) and each wanted to take a look at it. Then of course, the ubiquitous cameras all came out and shots were taken in all manner of groupings. They promised to email me photos, but I have yet to receive any.

Saturday proved to be a nice riding day, with a total of 50 miles. I decided to be a friend on Sunday and not ride, since Mary (Ian's sister) came back from the states that morning, and Ange and I took her out to breakfast. An American breakfast. Well, sort of. Don't ever ask for poached eggs at Round Table in Tienmu, Taiwan...although edible, they came out overdone and partially submerged in tepid water. The toast was pale white, with not a speck of whole grain goodness anywhere to be found. And the bacon? Limp, greasy, with a teensy bit of flavor. Oh well, I didn't come here for the food.

Scenes from various rides

My weekend mornings are usually spent on a bike. Saturdays I usually ride with a group of ladies who meet at TAS and then head out to one of the bike paths. Sundays will usually find me riding solo...sometimes up the hills, sometimes on the paths, depending on my mood and energy level. Taipei is actually a very nice place to ride, if you survive the traffic on some of the roads.

This first picture is of the car wash guy who took pity on me and soaped down the bike after my "after Typhoon Krosa" ride.



And here we have a very necessary stop for me, also on the Krosa ride. I kept thinking I could make it to a "good" potty, but common sense told me to stop here, no matter what it looked or smelled like. Yes, it does look like a men's urinal, but really it is just a typical Chinese squat toilet.



One of our favorite things to do is ride out to Tanshui, then hop aboard the ferry to Bali, where frozen mango drinks and fresh donuts await. Enjoying the ferry this morning were Elise, Karen J., Brenda, Gretchen, Claire, and Karen P. Mary Y. was the photographer, so missed having her smiling face here.



This is a store near the Taipei Bridge. I did a double take when I saw the "fat boy" mannequin because the store isn't in an area that is frequented by expats. Rarely do I see any Chinese men who would wear something this large.

Photos from a Recent Ride

If memory serves me correctly (and the older I get, the less I trust my memory) these photos were from a ride to Bali two weeks ago with the two Karens, Donna, and myself.



One of our favorite stops is a stand with a fantastic frozen mango drink. Karen, Karen, and Donna are counting their NT to make sure they have the right amount.



While Karen J. led the group along the river, I spotted this guy and had to detour to see what it was. It seems to me that it might be a statue to protect the fishermen along the river...who knows for sure?



I've seen these strange fold-up bikes before, but this is the first time I've seen them all folded and lined up in a row. Can't say as I would like to ride one...can't imagine being very comfortable for too long.

Endoscopy

Or as they pronounce it in Taiwan, en-do (long o sound) sco- (again, long o sound) pea.

I got to the hospital before my appointed time, since the walk over took just 20 minutes. Headed up to the fourth floor and showed a lady dressed in pink my paperwork. "Straight ahead," said she, so straight ahead I went. I'm already apprehensive, and I don't like hospitals anyway, so I nervously handed the nurse my paperwork, all the while trying to avoid eye contact with the 10 or so other folks waiting. She took it, along with my national health card, and after signing my name twice on a form that was all in Mandarin, I sat down in a bright orange plastic chair to wait.

After waiting about 20 minutes, (yes, I had a novel with me to help keep me occupied) the nurse stood up and made a loud announcement. In Mandarin. People raised their hands, stood up, and were all given a little medicine cup. They then all brought the cups to their mouths, tipped their heads back, and drank the medicine down. A few minutes later, the nurse asked for my paper, took a look at it, left, and then returned with my very own paper cup. "What is it for?" I asked. "Drink," she encouraged. Oh what the heck, I'm in a hospital in Taiwan, what can possibly go wrong? I drank. (not bad tasting...thick and white...wonder what it was???)

Before long I hear a few belches from folks around me and my own stomach is feeling a bit extended. Oh yeah, this is what Rick told me about. No worries, a tad uncomfortable, but that's it. (the bloating lasted the rest of the day...as did other side effects, but I'll refrain from saying why I needed to stay close to a restroom for the rest of the day!)

Another ten minutes pass (along with some gas) before the nurse starts calling names for the procedure. I occasionally hear sounds of retching from the procedure room, which doesn't make me feel any less apprehensive.

"Brenda," calls the nurse. Oh crap, it's finally my turn.

Into the little room, take off the shoes, climb up on the table, lay on my side. A different nurse squirts my throat with numbing spray. Twice. I'm laying on my side, which sometimes makes me gag on a good day. And with my throat numb, yikes. The nurse then put a plastic mouthpiece between my lips. Yep, that did it. I sat up, tried not to actually gag, and told the doctor I didn't think I could do this. Dr. Chen said,"No worries, it just takes a minute, breathe deep."

So back down on the table I go. Dr. Chen is holding tube. (that sucker is LONG) I close my eyes. Doctor says open eyes. I open eyes, but do NOT look at tube going down throat, and breathe as deeply as I could, doing my best not to make any retching sounds so as not to worry the people still waiting their turn. What's that? Doctor is done, tube coming out? I didn't embarass myself too badly, and although my throat was still numb, I no longer felt the need to gag. (and I KNOW I didn't make enough noise for people to hear me!)

Best part...everything looked good. I can go to Dr. Chen's office at a later time if I want and view the procedure on the computer. Don't think I see the need for that right now.

All in all, while it was uncomfortable, I am glad I had it done. I still don't like procedures or hospitals, but sometimes ya just gotta do it.

Goodbye, Ian

Well, hell, cancer took another friend and colleague. No words of wisdom here...just wanted to say goodbye. I'll miss you, my friend.

A Better Day

I decided to head out for a ride around 11:30 this morning. Figured I could avoid the mad "going to work traffic", plus the rain that had been threatening all morning never appeared. So I thought I'd try for the Taipei Zoo again, since my plans for that destination were thwarted yesterday. The start of the ride was pleasant, not many people out on the bike path and the wind, while strong, wasn't bugging me too much. This picture is a view of Dadaocheng Wharf in the distance...one of our favorite bike stopping places.



Hmmm, what is this? Past Dadaocheng Wharf? A bunch of typhoon debris. Well, the guy on the other side is going over it, so I may as well follow suit.



Unfortunately, not too much farther from the first debris, the bike path was covered in mud, and virtually impassable. So, I turned around, climbed over the pile of junk again, then decided to do a reverse River Loop, which meant I had to walk the bike up a long incline at the Taipei Bridge, and instead of being able to ride in the scooter lane, since I was on the wrong side of the road, I had to carry the bike down these steps.




Once on the other side of the river, and after pushing the bike UP the pedestrian bridge on one side and carrying it DOWN the steps on the other, I very nearly turned around. This side of the river was an absolute mess. Mud everywhere. Debris in piles dotting the landscape like old-fashioned hay bales. Workers in big trucks were out in force performing a massive cleanup. Still, I travelled through some mucky standing water and plenty of mud. I think this is the dirtiest I've been on any bike ride.




This bridge is just off WenLin Road, and is pretty much right at the beginning of the bike path. The typhoon did a number on it!




On the way home, I stopped at a place that washes cars and scooters by hand. One guy was nice enough to let me hose the bike off, then after getting over his chuckles at seeing how dirty I was, proceeded to soap off the rest of the mud on the bike for me.

An Up and Down Day

It started innocently enough, with me planning on riding 40-50 miles today. Yep, cut those miles down to 20 because the wind was howling, the smells by the river were unpleasant, and there was plenty of muck on and around the bike paths from our recent typhoon. I did have a nice chat though, with Greg and Ralph, whom I met taking a rest near the WenLin Road bike path entrance.

From there, I went on home, via the German bakery where I purchased a great loaf of "Fitty" bread. Too hot, so they couldn't slice it. Now, why did I get upset when the gal told me that? Why didn't I just smile and say ok? Hmmm, could it be I was still irritated from the traffic, people, scooters, and cars on the way to the bakery? It was pretty intense, and I did holler at several idjits. (I really don't like me when I do that, but I can't seem to outgrow the problem.) Once I got home, again dodging traffic, the bread was still warm enough for me to enjoy a slice.

After a bit of a nap, a nice telephone conversation with Russ, and a visit to Jason's grocery store, I was ready to head over to the hospital for my appointment with a gastro doc. Thank goodness for the note from Annie written in Chinese...handed it to a lady at the information desk, who walked me over to the registration desk and the one English speaking lady in the place took care of me after that. Met with the gastro guy...had to have this appointment so I could get an appointment for an endoscopy. I will have no medication for this procedure...the doc assured me it would take but a minute and wouldn't need anything because he has over 30 years of experience. He has no idea what an amazing gag reflex I have.

After I was done being cranky and teary-eyed at the hospital, I decided to grab a cab and hit the fabric market. Score! Found great fabric to hang from the wires in my classroom over the library for only 50NT$...12 yards cost about $20.00 US. The stall was just in the front door up the stairs, didn't even have to go into the maze of the market. Once done there, I decided to walk toward Chung Shan so I could bus home. Well, some twists and turns later (and a fabulous new fabric store find, purchased three lengths of fabric at a great price) I was pretty sure I wasn't going anywhere towards where I needed to go. Not lost, mind you, just a bit turned around. Still, I walked. Up and down streets and alleyways with lots and lots of sidewalk food vendors all doing a brisk business. As it was starting to get dark, I crossed one busy street, then hailed a cab. I had walked enough that the cab fare was almost half what it was on the way to the market.

Oh yeah, I noticed that I was the only foreigner in the hospital (which was busy with HUNDREDS of people just on the first floor where I was) AND at the fabric market AND during all of my walking around. Cool.

So...moral of the day...stop being so bloody cranky!

Weathered the Typhoon

No pun intended. It was nice to wake up today, though, and have the winds of the typhoon over and done with. It's headed toward China now, and over a million people there have been evacuated. Here, there were landslides and some flooding. Of course, there is debris all over the place. I lucked out because my power was out for less than half an hour. It cut out just as I was taking a pan of hot nachos out of the convection oven. Good timing. And good nachos.

I finally put the bike on the trainer this morning and did about half of Coach Troy's "On the Road" DVD. This is a beautiful autumn virtual ride through northern Baltimore county, Maryland. Figure it's one way for me to experience fall, since I don't get it in Taipei. The DVD is fun, but tough.


Typhoon Krosa aftermath: Photos taken within a city block radius of my apartment.





Trainer currently in my living room in Taipei: (I can do this since Russ is in the states and I don't do any entertaining!)

Typhoon Krosa

What a crazy typhoon this one is. Lots of wind and rain...I sat at my desk and watched a bunch of debris fly by my window as it rattled and shook. Stepped out onto my balcony at one point to snap a few photos of the trees and blowing precipitation. (see below) That was probably stupid, but I didn't venture too far out. Looks like the eye is over us right now, which should have lessened the typhoon's intensity, but it still feels pretty darn powerful. The upper kitchen window is rattling and so is the vent cover in the bathroom. I've already replaced it once, but chances are I'll have to do it again before the night is out.






I had every intention of putting my bike on the trainer and enjoying a ride inside the apartment. Here it is, about 6:30 pm, and the bike is still sitting on its stand, waiting for me to get off the computer, log out of bikejournal.com, and put in some miles. I did have some fun on the computer today, though, as I put together my first html table. Kind of addicting once you get started.