TechnoEarthMama

I’ve been commuting strictly by bus for the past several days.  Why?  Because after I changed the rear tube last week, apparently I didn’t tighten the bolts correctly or something (or, possibly it’s not my fault at all) and the wheel slipped out of alignment mid-commute, stranding me at NE 113th and Glisan.  It’s wonderful place to be stranded.  The bus line on that part of Glisan (#25) is one of those really useful lines that only runs once per hour in each direction.  Really, Tri-Met, on Glisan?  I understand it at least a little on my dinky neighborhood street, but on Glisan?  Anyway, I ended up walking my bike (despite the fact that the tire was rubbing against the frame the whole time) to a friend’s house on NE 110th and getting a ride.

I still haven’t fixed the bike.  I’ve gotten tired of fixing the darn thing, but I’ve also simply had better or more important things to do.  Fixing the bike hasn’t been a priority.

So I’ve been back on the bus.  This means we leave about 20-25 minutes earlier than we were previously, and walk to the daycare provider’s house, and then I get on the #15 on NE 102nd (sorry, Tweeps, I get off at Burnside, so we’ll probably never run into each other).

It works quite well.  I’m getting to work on time and I am much less sweaty on arrival.  The odd thing I’ve noticed is that I rarely see the same people twice on the bus.  I think on Friday and Monday I saw the same two people at my bus stop, but otherwise, it’s been different people every day, both at the bus stop and on the bus.

I’ve been pondering a few possible reasons:

• People in this area are not regular bus commuters.  They only do it when they have to.
• People in this area are not Monday-Friday workers.  Or they work different times each day.
• People take different routes depending on the circumstances (there are at least two different lines running on this section of NE 102nd).
• People are like me and sometimes (or usually) ride their bikes.  I have been seeing more and more bike commuters in this area.

But even if I am the only Monday-Friday gal on the bus, it’s working for me, and I’m happy, although I’d like to get back to the bike (this one or a new one) at some point.

I’ve been mostly off twitter for several hours tonight; first at a Girl Scout meeting and then while writing an article which is due tomorrow.
I can’t turn off the tweets in my brain, though, so to keep them from piling up, I typed them into a separate Word document.  Yes, I had to do this.  [...]

Yes, I am an adult who has seen every (or almost every) episode of Hannah Montana.  I’m supposed to know what my kids are watching, right?  Actually, they really get a kick out of me watching it with them, which is very cool with me.
I’ve been disappointed in the past few episodes I’ve seen, though.  [...]

Today I read an article on “6 Myths About Cycle Commuting.” Most of it was what I expected:  it’s not safe, it’s too expensive, my workplace is too far away, etc.  The last one took me by surprise, though.
Myth #6:  Cycling will turn me impotent.
What?  Obviously that doesn’t apply to me.  But that is one [...]

Today, I just escaped putting on rain gear.  Both morning and evening, it was just barely sprinkling — the kind of weather in which no Portlander would be caught dead with an open umbrella!  I rode my entire route thinking “don’t rain, don’t rain” and managed to make it both times.
It’s nearly dark at 5:00 [...]

I made myself annoying on Twitter the other, extolling the virtues of MyVidoop.  Vidoop is a company headquartered in Portland, Oregon that’s all about internet security.  They design “innovative solutions that make it easier for users and businesses to engage with each other securely on the Internet.”
Vidoop uses multi-factor authentication in its business solutions to [...]

As the weather gets colder, I’ve been feeling the need to add to my cycling wardrobe, although I haven’t been sure how I would afford to do that.  Actual cycling clothes can be expensive and difficult to find in plus sizes.  Actual wool underwear, which I’ve been wanting for quite a while, is expensive too.
Fortunately, [...]

I was going to go to bed last night, when someone (@verso?) on Twitter brought up late night double feature picture shows.  After that, there was nooooo stopping several of us from quoting the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  I even posted a link to a few pictures of me when I used to be in [...]

I confess.  I’ve been riding on the wrong side of the street for the past two days.  AND on the sidewalk!
Why?  Because Tri-Met is fixing something at NE 113th and Burnside, and they’ve got both the intersection and the crosswalks blocked off, so I can’t cross Burnside (where I would normally turn left).  So, since [...]

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins on November 1!  If you’re not familiar with this, participants are supposed to write a 50,000 word novel in one month.  That’s it.  I tried it last year, but ended up hating the novel I started, so I decided not to finish it.
This year, I’ve given no thought to [...]