Calendar Fetish 2008

People who know me, I don't have to explain my calendar fetish. People who don't, now you know I have a calendar fetish. Addiction. Strong craving for. I really really like them. I don't know quite where it came from--it doesn't stem from any psychoanalytical need to control my life or time or anything, I just think they're fun. I think it started one year I was in a calendar store to get one for the new year, and I realized there were a bunch that I liked, so I decided to break free from the chains of societal calendar pressures and buy all the ones that I liked.

And so it goes. I go calendar shopping after the holidays, because a) then I already have the gift ones that I get, and b) when you buy as many calendars as I do, waiting until they are 50% off really pays. So yesterday I indulged in my calendar excesses for the year, and here's what I came up with:

Wall Calendars:
- Pittsburgh!
- Cool horse photography
- Vintage world maps
- Monte Nagler black & white photography
- Bridges
- Art by Gustave Baumann
- Art by Wolf Kahn
- Old photography of NYC
(And of course at work I have wet erase calendars to keep track of project schedules. But I usually categorize those under my office supply addiction, not my calendar addiction.)

Day-by-day Calendars:
- Daily paper airplane (fun!!)
- Bad President Bush countdown calendar
- Bye-bye Bush countdown calendar (yes, it was worth getting two)
- Stuff on My Cat
- Pooch Cafe
- Daily lawyer jokes (couldn't resist)

The one bummer about waiting until January is that a few of my staple comics that I get every year are sometimes sold out. So I'm currently waiting for the following day-by-day calendars to come in from ordering them online:
- Dilbert
- Pearls Before Swine
- Get Fuzzy

So, for those of you who are counting, yes, that is 16 calendars. And I'm PROUD OF IT!

Down to the Business of Winter

OK, holidays are over, so now it's time to get serious about this winter thing. Most people don't like winter after the holidays--they like the nice pretty snow for their picturesque holiday scene, but after that they just want spring. For my money, January and February are the best time to REALLY enjoy it! No more nagging feelings hanging over your head that you're supposed to be planning something, buying something, wrapping something, wondering if your life is full enough, complete enough, etc. And let's face it--here in Pittsburgh winter usually doesn't really get serious until January anyhow.

It's that time of year to feel free to take some extra time to enjoy this stuff. My weekend morning walk for coffee was absolutely brilliant. Crisp and clear, the world was quiet and snowy, the cold air sharpened my senses, woke me up, and was thoroughly invigorating. Later today I fully intend to pull on my winter hiking boots and take a jaunt through Frick. And boy...am I itching to be on a mountain right now. (Grrr...haven't gone boarding in 2 years.)

Speaking of which, let's not forget about winter sports! Hockey is in full swing (3rd row seats to the Pens game later today!) and NFL playoffs are gearing up (go Stillers!), and across the pond, the real football national leagues are charging right along (yeah, that's right Americans...those "pansy soccer players" do their thing year 'round, especially in the winter when we're at home crying).

It can be hard because this point of winter can be so tough for many people. It seems like it's always dark. It's cold. The snow gets all dirty and black by the side of the road. A lot of people have a really tough time with SAD, plugging through the winter months. So it's even more important to take extra steps to enjoy it. Yeah, it's dark when I go to work and dark when I leave...but it's not dark in the middle of the day when I sneak out for a quick walk. Pile on those extra layers...I'm not ashamed to have nothing but my glasses poking out between the beanie and turtle fur. I feel so pumped up after embracing the elements and biking to work than after shivering in my car on the drive there.

Besides...all the winter hating in the world won't make it go away, so I might as well make the best of it.

The Bumblebee Goes to Washington (So Do I)

I spent the last five or so days visiting LT in our nation's capital. First things first, a shout out to EmJ and Kirbs for taking me in all five nights when it became apparent that the T homestead was not an option, and for hosting a fine New Year's Eve shindig.

Also a hug to LT. Keep your chin up; I still believe that patience and reasonable understanding will win out in the end.

A very cool thing about DC is that it is eminently bike-able. There are bike lanes on many streets and lots of great paths and parks and monuments to explore; you can take bikes on the Metrorail (provided it's not rush hour); most places we went had plenty of bike rack space. And oh yeah...it's FLAT (compared to Pittsburgh, anyhow). Although time constraints forced us to the car more often than we had wanted, we did manage to get in two great bike explorations, which I would recommend to anyone.

The first was a ride from the Capitol Building grounds and the National Botanical Gardens, through the National Mall and past the Washington Monument, along the tidal basin past the Jefferson Memorial, and down to the FDR Memorial. I hadn't been to DC since the FDR Memorial was installed--it is definitely a thought-provoking place if you are the type to let your thoughts be provoked, especially in light of some present day public discourses. We rode back much the same way, although we likely would have continued the rest of the way around the tidal basin were it not for dinner plans and rain.

The other was a ride from Gravelly Point (where you sit in a field and get buzzed by incoming planes at Reagan National Airport) up a path that runs along the Potomac. You can turn around at any point; we went to the Key Bridge and across into Georgetown, along the canal, then back to city streets to Foggy Bottom. Then we took the Metro from Foggy Bottom back to Reagan National. Getting back to the path to Gravelly Point from the airport was interesting, but we managed not to violate any homeland security zones, I think.

One cool thing along this path is Theodore Roosevelt Island, which is only accessible from a pedestrian bridge off the river path, near Rosslyn. Although, I feel obliged to point out that by law you're not supposed to bike through it and it's closed at sundown...um, just in case anyone out there was tempted to illegally ride your bikes through it at night. Yeah.

I was also thrilled to meet Monica, Susanne and Danny. They've given LT a lot of support and I could tell they care a lot about her. And the long list of the other good people I met...Renee, Alicia, Leah, Panah, Jim & Lizzie, Susie, Keith and family (and the other XC guys), Dean, brother Kirby, another Emily, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. (Sorry people I know I'm forgetting or whose names I misspelled...)

And lest I forget, thanks to MT for her always-superb care of my furry children.

I will now leave you with pictures of some of our bikes' great travels.

Babe and the Bumblebee go to the Capitol.

Babe and the Bumblebee go to the Washington Monument.

Babe and the Bumblebee go to the FDR Memorial.

Babe and the Bumblebee go to an undisclosed location.

DEO

Nothing like viewing hours the day after Christmas. My heart goes out to the O'Brien family. I can only imagine what a riot Donna must have been at the holidays, and what a terrible hole that must have left for you this year.

Pitter Patter

I woke up this morning to a very familiar sound that I haven't heard in who knows how many years.  Specifically:

THUMP THUMPTHUMP THUTHUTHUTHUTHTHUMP THUMP THUMP

One of the other apartments in my building apparently has visitors that include at least one young-ish child, and I woke to the noise of kid feet running crazily around somewhere in the building.  I can't remember how many times I woke up to that very same noise coming from my sister's kids back at my parents' house.

The timing is apt, given that just this week my parents put their old house up on the market--the house where I grew up. If you're interested and want to see it, here you go.

Disclaimer - it got fresh paint and new carpet just about everywhere after they moved out.  It never looked that distinguished and dignified when we lived there!  A constant ebb and flow of two to four kids and one to five grandkids will do that to a place.

I Guaran-Damn-Tee It

The following is guaranteed to make you smile.  Perhaps even dance around a bit.  If it doesn't, there is a possibility that you may be lacking a soul.



The Holloways - Generator

Observations of a Random Nature

- Don't bother staying up really late working on a project when there are only a few workdays left before Christmas.  Even if they tell you that you have a deadline, nobody will actually be working at work.

- Cats with night crazies are entertaining as hell, especially when they try to act all dignified afterward.

- Scraping your leg on your pedal hurts a lot worse when your pant leg has been rolled up and your skin is frozen from the cold air.

- Someone who is nice to you but is mean to the waiter is probably not a nice person.

- There are far too many people in the world who don't know what a pakora is!

- Coffee rocks.

- The bag on your back that has, among other things, a computer (and accessories), two changes of clothes, paperwork, and gym shoes, is not particularly comfortable and does not make it easier to bike up the hill.

- Everyone cancels everything around the holidays, claiming that there is no time.  This is everything from meetings at work to organized recreational activities to pretty much anything else.  This pretty much leaves a lot of people with about two weeks of next to nothing to do.  Who are these people that really have parties to go to every night?

- I love winter, but winter = decreased daylight = almost never getting out to Frick = BOO.  I disapprove!!