Living the Dream

Day’s Verse:
Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.
2 Cor. 4:5-6

I have mentioned The Other Katie phenomenon a couple of times before (here and here). These emails seem to come in waves:

Well, OK, this graph — which shows date on the X axis and number of emails received on the Y axis — doesn’t seem to actually support my perception that I receive Other Katie emails in waves. If one of you science types wants to do a quick statistical analysis on this data (I’m pretty sure October 2009 was an outlier) to indicate whether it really is cyclical or not, I won’t stop you. But the upshot is that over the last year or so, I’ve gotten 75 emails for Other Katies. Occasionally I get an exceptional one, and it’s time once again for me to share some of the stranger emails I receive in my alter ego as The Other Katie.

Received July 28, 2010
Subject: Zimmer

Dear Katie,

I am a friend from Florian and he told me you’re might still need a room for your stay in HD.
One of my flatmates is moving out, so we are looking for somebody.
It would be a room in a share flat, with 3 other girls in Neuenheim (Kussmaulstr. 4), close to the campus…
no washing machine, but a lot of fun

Greetings from HD
[Name omitted]

Man, I wish I had a friend name Florian who lives in Heidelberg (I inferred this from some links attached). Sounds like quite an opportunity — I like to have a lot of fun, but the no washing machine is a deal breaker.

Received July 14, 2010
Subject: VVIP Program!

Hello,

Welcome to Hotel Sorella’s VVIP program! Your Sorella VVIP number is [Omitted]. You may use this number to guarantee future reservations.

If you are not affiliated with a corporate program, please book your reservation directly with us online at www.hotelsorella.com or by calling 866.842.0100. However, if you are affiliated with a corporate program and would like to receive proper credit to your account for each stay, book your reservations through your dedicated travel agency per corporate policy and make sure your VVIP number is indicated on your reservation to ensure VVIP benefits.

Please note, in the event you book through alternate third party channels not mentioned above, we cannot guarantee your account will be credited or your VVIP amenity will be delivered, although we will make every attempt to do so.

If there is any other way I may be of assistance, to check your VVIP status, or to update your profile, please feel free to contact me anytime. We look forward to welcoming you in the future!

Thank You,

[Name omitted]

Sales and Marketing & VVIP Program Coordinator
Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE
800 west sam houston parkway north ?| building 9 | houston, texas 77024
t 713.827.3513 | f 713.973.1601 |
[Name omitted]@valenciagroup.com
www.hotelsorella.com | www.valenciagroup.com

I wish I really was a VVIP — sounds like a pretty posh place! Of course, it’s in Texas, and my experience there is limited to one rerouted layover during a Christmas flight to Seattle, so unfortunately I can’t say for sure.

Received July 7, 2010
Subject: Grasyon and Bryan’s Wedding Pre-Wedding Activities

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As Grayson and Bryan’s big day approaches I wanted to send everyone a quick note and gauge your interest in any pre-wedding activities.

On Thursday, August 5, 2010, several of us are thinking about taking a little rafting voyage during the day down one of Colorado’s beautiful rivers. We have several options open to us as far as duration, difficulty, etc…but before I get into all the details I would like to get a sense if anyone is interested. More than likely we’ll keep it to a ½ day event, which may cost anywhere from $90 – $120 per person. They will pick us up in Vail, so you don’t have to worry about transportation.

On Friday, August 6, 2010 some people were throwing around the idea of horseback riding in the morning, so again if you have any interest let me and we’ll figure out a plan.

Please let me know if you are interested rather quickly that way we can get more of the details ironed out and book something.

Thanks,
[Name Omitted]

Dang, sounds like I’m missing another fun opportunity! River rafting and horseback riding in Colorado — who wouldn’t want to do that? Whoever this Other Katie is, she certainly has a lot of pretty fun opportunities.

Received June 22, 2010
Subject: FW: New Trick

She’s on her back… She’s on her stomach… She can do both – since Ellie turned herself over for the first time yesterday!

I infer that The Other Katie knows somebody with a new baby. Otherwise Katie’s friends sound a bit, well, infantile.

Received May 2, 2010
Subject: Fw: Teachers appreciation Luncheon Monday May 3rd

Hi Katie! I just wanted to remind you that Monday is the Teachers and TA’s
Lunch. After you drop the kids off head over for some lunch from Willy’s
Mexican Cantina! Enjoy! Thanks for all you do for our children!!!!!!! We
really appreciate it! Especially me! Talk to you soon. [Name Omitted]

This one was particularly bad because I received it from a Katie Ferguson, who has an email address at yahoo.com. I assume she intended to forward it to herself but failed.

Received April 22, 2010
Subject: where in the world are yoooooooou!!!!!!!!

id like to know how you are doing? it’s been awhile since we last talked. just letting you know that we are still around and waiting for the new arrival well i will be in touch.
love always,
[name omitted]

I think I answered the sender’s subject-line question, anyway — I included my city and state location in my email signature. If by “new arrival” they mean a new baby, The Other Katie also knows a lot of pregnant women, since this is a different sender than the previous new-baby email.

And, last but not least, a more serious one.

Received March 19, 2010
Subject: [Name Omitted]

Hi Katie. I spoke with [Name X] yesterday and let her know [Name Omitted] is seeing a child psychologist, Dr. [Name Z] (“Dr. Z”). Dr. Z’s phone number is [888-888-8888]. We’ve had three sessions so far and are focusing on ways [Name Omitted] can handle situations that anger and frustrate him more effectively. I have filled out the necessary paperwork with Dr. Z for you and [Name X] to be able to discuss [Name Omitted] if the need arises. Please pass this information along to [Name X] the next time you see her. Thank you. Have a nice weekend. [Name Y]

I certainly wish Name Omitted and Name Y all the best. Clearly life isn’t all weddings, fun runs in Atlanta (I get lots of these, but they’re boring, so I didn’t post any), river rafting and horseback riding in Colorado, and cute new babies.

That’s the Other Katie update for now. Expect some more interesting snapshots of The Other Katie’s more-exciting life another time.

3 Snide Remarks

Day’s Verse:
Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that’s what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions.
2 Cor. 5:9-ish (context)

Here’s part of a renewal notice email I received today — July 27, 2010 — from the League of American Bicyclists. I’d better get right on this renewal — I only have a little over 12 months!

In other news, I saw a mother raccoon furtively ushering her brood of partly-grown kits (?) into some bushes on Mercer Island this morning. She gave me a belligerent, “Don’t mess with me” stare. I didn’t mess with her.

Make a Snide Remark

Day’s Verse:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Cor. 4:16-18

I’m going to make a goal of posting a vignette or thought here every day for the next week. Hold me to it, people.

Today: Riding across the I-90 bridge, I reveled in the mountain views. What a beautiful place I have the honor and pleasure of calling home! Yet the view saddened me, too: After a day or two without rain, the smog buildup begins obscuring the mountains. This morning, after a dry week, I could barely make out Mt. Rainier. It looked like a mirage, faint white and blue brush strokes painted onto the blue-brown horizon. The Cascades hid in the hazy distance, and the Olympics shyly showed their faint outline to the west.

This saddened me because I remember how stunning, even breathtaking, I found the same vistas in January. When the clouds and rain gave us surcease, the mountains came out looking close enough to touch. The Cascades and Olympics stood out vividly, their snow-capped peaks cutting boldly across the wintry blue sky, their foothills stood definitively black and navy and purple. Sunrise light (which coincided with my morning commute) gilded Mt. Rainier and its shawl of wispy clouds, later turning the snow the colors of a Dream Come True.

Comparing my memory of the crisp winter mountain views with the summer’s smoggy blur reinforced my top reason for bicycling: reducing my environmental impact. Cutting carbon footprint isn’t on the forefront of most bicyclists’ minds. People usually ride to save money — that’s the number one reason. Other reasons include:

• Building exercise into your day (don’t pay for a gym membership, don’t have to exercise the willpower after work to exercise, don’t have to fit it in time-wise);

• Not needing to buy gas (which goes back to money, not supporting foreign nations, and contributing less to horrific environmental disasters);
• Easier parking (park in your cubicle, against any fence or post, in pretty much any secure place, or, in Pioneer Square, BIKE PORT); and
• Faster commuting (in the city it’s often faster than taking a bus or driving)

The added bonus of reducing CO₂ emissions is a maraschino cherry atop the sundae of reasons for bicycling. But for me, living in Seattle and loving the place itself, bicycling is about doing my bit to keep Washington beautiful. This place is my home. I’m responsible for caring for it, so I ride my bike.

1 Snide Remark

Day’s Verse:
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.
1 Cor. 16:13-14

I’ve had a blog post open and partly written for days. That’s why I haven’t updated my blog in such a long time — I’m halfway through a post and I keep trying to squeeze it out, but you know, you just can’t rush some things. So in the meantime, I thought I’d post a quick update on all those meaningless things that make life meaningful.

I just read a fascinating book called Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough, which expands on an article of the same name in the Atlantic Monthly. There’s a blog post brewing in me somewhere about that book. Some main things I came away with: Astonishment at how picky some women are about men; the different ways of going through life — either satisfied when you meet your criteria or always trying to get the best possible deal — have a huge impact on how you feel about life; your expectations going into any situation dramatically color your experience of that situation.

Rainier cherries are fresh and local; we got a box from the Woodinville Farmer’s Market and I just ate way more than is probably healthy for me. Also apricots, which I’ve only recently been able to eat again after finding half a worm in an apricot years ago. Also bok choy, which is excellent because Ian’s favorite salad is bok choy salad (a recipe similar to this one) and I refuse to buy bok choy — or, at this point, pretty much any produce — from more than 200 miles away.

This Friday my high school friend Zoe is getting married.

This Saturday I’m helping run Go, Dog Go! as part of my AmeriCorps Community Action Project. After that, I’m out of hours for helping, so anything else I do is real volunteering. Please come to Go, Dog Go! if you can to at least say hi. Bring your dog, if you have one.

I met a lady at the park near our house yesterday. Her name was Danielle. She had a 16-month-old Golden Retriever named Mia (or Maya…I forget) who totally charmed me. We — Danielle and me — spent 45 minutes chatting. It was nice getting to know somebody new. Dog people tend to be very nice, and they always love talking about their dogs.

Artemis is at Cascade Bicycle Studio getting a rack put on. It’s taking 3 days. I have faith that some day, I will be able to carry things with my primary bike without hurting my back. In the meantime, the Red Bike and I are bonding. My favorite thing about the Red Bike: Wearing sandals while riding. Mom always said not to, but it’s so comfortable in the summer!

I put 2 coats of off-white paint over the dark dusty rose in the downstairs bathroom. The walls still have a pink tint. Curse you, 1990s color choices!

That’s the news from Lake Wobegone. Tune in the same place, some other time, for the exciting continuation of this thrilling life.

Make a Snide Remark

Day’s Verse:
Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
1 Cor. 14:20

Have you noticed how closely physical and mental well-being are tied? In biking, they have a term called “bonking.” Contrary to your first thought, it actually refers to when your body runs out of nutrients and you start going downhill physically. Runners call this “hitting the wall,” which has fewer alternative definitions than “bonking.”

On long athletic endeavors, the athlete has to continually replenish calories and electrolytes lost through exercise. This means consciously making an effort to eat and drink during the long activity. On my first century (100-mile) ride, I started bonking at about 70 miles. My symptoms:

• Sudden exhaustion

• Weakness
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Feeling depressed and miserable (more than riding 100 miles would warrant)
• Feeling like I’ll never make it and I might as well quit
• Suddenly needing to take a long nap

The insidious thing about these symptoms is that many of them seem reasonable for doing a long, hot ride. I mean, who wouldn’t want to take a nap after riding 70+ hilly miles on a hot day? But I heard a story about a professional racer who started bonking. He pulled his bike over in the middle of the race and took a nap.

What’s interesting is how many of the symptoms are mental. I usually know it’s past time to eat or drink when I start feeling hopeless. After I’ve had a snack and some water, not only do my muscles feel ready to take on more hills, but the world looks entirely beneficent.

I’ve known about this food/mental attitude influence for a long time as it pertains to athletic activity. The part I’ve never connected is that this applies in life generally. I don’t know why it’s taken so long for me to appreciate that when I feel inexplicably unhappy, maybe I just need to have a snack. However, now I’ve noticed this linkage, I have to say that it’s absolutely true: I’ve had any number of times when a negative, grumpy, miserable mood changed to a much more positive, chipper, upbeat outlook after pausing and having lunch. I’m not sure why nutrition has such a tight tie to emotions, but it’s clearly a strong link.

So next time you’re feeling a bit moody, take a break and munch an apple (or something else healthy — sugary snacks have their own sugar high problems). It could very well make the difference.

Yum.

Make a Snide Remark

Day’s Verse:
But the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.
Psalm 9:18

I sketched this two-headed cat-vampire-cow during the AmeriCorps training. See the right side bar for other sketches.

1 Snide Remark

Day’s Verse:
[Love] Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
1 Corinthians 13:7-ish

Lately I’ve been reading a six-book series called the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, by Stephen R. Donaldson. The major characteristics of the books are the hopeless, miserable way the protagonist moves through the books — he’s really just moved around by other more lively, driven characters — and the author’s use of remarkably arcane vocabulary.

Now, I’d generally consider myself to have a pretty decent vocabulary. I did all the vocabulary quizzes in high school, read Atlantic Monthly, and generally enjoy words. Using exotic vocabulary rarely fazes me, and only infrequently do I encounter a book that contains more than a scattering of words I don’t recognize at all. The Thomas Covenant series, though, regularly uses words completely unfamiliar to me, as well as quite a few words I haven’t encountered since those long-ago vocabulary quizzes. Just for the heck of it (I had 4 hours to kill waiting for a ride from Trout Lake home — I’m still in the midst of them right now) I decided to document all the unusual vocabulary words I encountered in one chapter (Chapter 9 of book 6, White Gold Wielder, pages 193 to 219), a total of 26 pages. The following list includes the word; and my guess, from context, as to what it means; and the actual definition.

KEY:
Word - my best guess definition – definition from Merriam-Webster online
* = Word I already knew but rarely encounter.

1. *Argent - silver

2. Vermeil - red – gilded silver
3. Demesne - kingdom, territory – estate, region, territory (others)
4. Ambit - notice, zone, sway? – a sphere of action, expression, or influence: scope (others)
5. *Virulent - contagious sickness, spreading – extremely poisonous or venomous, malignant (others)
6. *Preternatural - unnatural, over-natural? – existing outside of nature (others)
7. *Effaced - hidden from view – to cause to vanish (others)
8. Periapts - objects of power – amulet
9. Auge - disease, weakness – definition not available free on Merriam-Webster! d’oh!
10. *Carillon - bell – a set of fixed chromatically tuned bells sounded by hammers controlled from a keyboard
11. Geas – magical compulsion – not listed in Merriam-Webster online at all!
12. *Rectitude - uprightness – moral integrity : righteousness
13. Percipience - perception, sight, vision – perception
14. Argute - acute, tense – definition not available free on Merriam-Webster! d’oh!
15. *Verdant - lush – green with growing plants
16. Roborant - medicinal drink – definition not available free on Merriam-Webster! d’oh!
17. Immedicable - untreatable – incurable
18. *Caterwaul - crying, wailing – to make a harsh cry
19. Bourne - home – boundary, limit (others)
20. *Eldrich - magical – weird, eerie
21. *Tarn - lake – a small steep-banked mountain lake or pool
22. Oriel - window, opening – a large bay window projecting from a wall and supported by a corbel or bracket
23. Coign - window, opening – definition not available free on Merriam-Webster! d’oh!
24. Malefic - malicious, evil – having malignant influence : baleful; malicious
25. Suasion - persuasion, argument – the act of influencing or persuading
26. *Prescient - presaging – foreknowledge of events
27. Puissance - power – strength, power
28. Donjon - castle – a massive inner tower in a medieval castle
29. *Cairn- memorial marker – a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark
30. *Embrasure - window, opening – an opening with sides flaring outward in a wall or parapet of a fortification usually for allowing the firing of cannon (other)
31. Inanition - ??? – the quality or state of being empty: (a) : the exhausted condition that results from lack of food and water (b) : the absence or loss of social, moral, or intellectual vitality or vigor (reference)
32. *Vertiginous - inducing vertigo – causing or tending to cause dizziness (others)
33. Chausuble - hood – a sleeveless outer vestment worn by the officiating priest at mass
34. *Crozier - staff of office (for a bishop) – a staff resembling a shepherd’s crook carried by bishops and abbots as a symbol of office
35. *Exigency - need of the moment – : that which is required in a particular situation —usually used in plural (others)
36. Mendacity - ??? – 1 : the quality or state of being mendacious (really helpful definition); 2 : lie
37. Countervailing - countermand, opposite order – to exert force against an opposing and often bad or harmful force or influence (others)
38. Reft - bereft – to deprive one of; seize (more)
39. Falchion - huge sword – a broad-bladed slightly curved sword of medieval times
40. Deflagration - fire, bursting into flames – to burn rapidly with intense heat and sparks being given off (more)

(Side note: how many of these did you know? Can you fill in any of the undefined ones for me? Please??)

Now, I’m all in favor of “the right word for the right use,” and I love learning new words. Frankly, though, most of these word choices strike me as gratuitous use of a thesaurus, rather than using the right word in the right situation. For instance, why say “suasion” rather than “persuasion”? Or “percipience” instead of “perception”? Or “puissance” for “power”? Or, for heaven’s sake, “immedicable” rather than “incurable”?

OK, so if the author wants to use a cool vocabulary word now and then, that’s fine. But he used “embrasure” 3 times in one paragraph. He used 40 jump-out-at-you, grab-a-dictionary words in 26 pages. “Puissance” has appeared often enough that I’m ready to vomit at the sight of it. Most of his unusual vocabulary choices come from 14th Century origins and haven’t enjoyed common usage for centuries. At this point, my enjoyment of learning new words has transmogrified (take that, Stephen R. Donaldson! You’re not the only one who can toss around unnecessarily big, arcane words!) into disgust. I respect Donaldson’s vocabulary choices about as much as I respect Clive Cussler’s multiple uses of “Machiavellian” in one book.

4 Snide Remarks

Day’s Verse:
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Part of Lithia Park in Ashland, Oregon.

First view of Crater Lake.

Obligatory picture of us, commemorating our trip.

Looking south (I think) across Crater Lake.

We hiked down the Cleetwood Trail to the lake level.

Ian even looked happy when we reached the bottom. That changed on the way back up.

There were some really staggering panoramas of the landscape around Crater Lake, too.

On the drive home, we stopped at a scenic overlook where the Rogue River had carved out a canyon in the volcanic rock.

The next day we hiked up and all over the top of Lower Table Rock. Things both big (landscapes) and small (flowers) captivated us.

I took a ton of HDR-ready pictures but haven’t had the time to combine them yet. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the pictures from our trip. And don’t complain there weren’t any of Ashland or the plays — no pictures allowed in the theaters, and Ashland was nice but not particularly photographic. The end!

Make a Snide Remark

Day’s Verse:
We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
1 Corinthians 13:12

As I opened boxes of office-related stuff today, I ran across this Pearls Before Swine bicyclist comic, which I had up in my cube at Charles River.

I love this comic. I don’t know if the artist is a bicyclist, but it so perfectly encapsulates the reality of bicyclist/non-bicyclist relations in one succinct comic.

In unrelated news, we had an amazing family dinner at the Metropolitan Grill: Amazing in a few ways. First, when I say “family,” I mean more than just my parents and us. Uncle Greg was up from San Diego for Grandma Sullivan’s memorial service and taking her ashes to the Tahoma Cemetery, so he joined us. And my dad’s cousin John Whitlow and his wife Laurie joined us from Bainbridge Island. This is the first time in my memory I know of the Sullivans and the Washington Whitlows getting together at something other than a funeral. John and Laurie are avid bicyclists, and John serves on the board of the Bicycle Alliance, which is how we reconnected — really I should say “connected,” since we never knew each other before. I’m optimistic that we’ll get to be a bit more family-like from now on.

Some other tidbits:

• I have started repainting the downstairs bathroom from dusty rose to off-white. I’ve cut in (badly) most of the edges and that doesn’t actually leave much to do with the rollers. Unfortunately it takes 2 or 3 coats of the white to cover up the current pink color.

• Ian and I picked raspberries at a friend’s house this weekend. We are now flush with really delicious home-grown berries.
• We got an estimate on redoing the floor in the downstairs bathroom and laundry room, which together total less than 100 square feet. Total cost: $1,500. Why? Because the subfloor is made out of particleboard or something equally not allowed, and they have to take out the subfloor, put in plywood, and then put the new flooring material on. Also, they have to remove and reinstall the toilet and moulding around the edges. Total labor: $950. I’m starting to think that we should just find out how to do most of the labor ourselves, if we can. Maybe our current ugly pink-diamond linoleum isn’t as awful as I thought…
• Removed ivy from our rockery. DIE EVIL INVASIVE SPECIES!!! (Of course, we left all the succulents etc. that are certainly not native, either.
• We’re watching Carmel while my parents are in California. We had to dope her up with doggie drugs on 4th of July; our entire neighborhood was a war zone, and we could see fireworks out of every window. It was horrendous. The next morning she found a moldy tennis ball and cat poop in the back yard. And then we got back from raspberry picking and found her unashamedly laying on our couch, which required serious reprimanding. I love having a dog!
• We awoke to sunshine this morning for the first time in at least a week. I saw Mt. Rainier! And the Cascades! And the Olympics!

And last but not least, I’ll be in Trout Lake from tomorrow through Friday, so expect silence again. You’ll never even miss me. Enjoy the sun and drink lots of water!

1 Snide Remark

Day’s Verse:
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
1 Corinthians 13:3-7

This is a kind of rambly post mostly about bike stuff. A ton of other stuff has been happening, but I’m going to ignore that stuff for now. Here it is.

Since July hit, we’ve had a weather time-warp back three months. Suddenly the temperatures have hardly peeked over the 60°F mark; clouds have rolled in; and the famous Seattle drippy drizzle has watered our lawns into verdancy (if that’s a word) rarely seen after May.

Most days, I seem to judge my bike clothes choices pretty well, but today marks a particular exception, a day that I so thoroughly misjudged the riding conditions that I arrived at work sopping wet and leaving damp footprints behind. I eschewed a jacket, thinking that the rain would hold at a light mist (FALSE!), and on the same premise, wore sandals as I rode my red bike in. Good thing I paired sandals with wool socks, because otherwise my toes would’ve all gone on strike before I got to work.

The upshot was that I arrived at work with soaked vest, arm warmers, jersey, sandals, and socks. The only good choice I made was to wear long pants, which also got wet, but I expected that more. Now I have newspaper stuffed in my sandals — not an overly effective practice, since not much holds the newspaper in place — and all my clothes draped over the handy-dandy drying rack that only I seem to use.

Maybe you didn’t notice, but I mentioned that I rode the red bike. This is the free hybrid bike that I rented for 6+ weeks while Artemis underwent repairs after a car hit me. I’ve outfitted it with a bell, a rack, fenders (of course), and platform pedals. In the works: A homemade pannier made out of a portable hanging file container. I rode it today because a few weeks ago I ordered a pair of custom panniers from Swift Industries and those panniers are ready for me to pick up today. I needed a bike with a rack to bring them home on, and the red bike is the only bike (aside from Charlotte, and why would I ride the Xtracycle 40 miles if I don’t have to?) meeting that criteria.

Oh, perhaps you noticed that I don’t yet have a rack on Artemis. Back in May I started intensively working to find a rack that would fit Artemis’ strange braze-on locations, but kept hitting dead ends at every turn. Finally, having exhausted every other venue, I contacted Seven for help. They made the bike, and I hoped that they’d work something out for me besides making a custom rack for me for full price ($500+ –way out of my price range). The good people at Seven did, in fact, offer me an alternative: They would modify a Tubus Logo rack to fit my bike, and all I had to do was pay for the Logo. They’d cover the modifications and installation. I excitedly agreed.

That was exactly 1 month ago today. I’ve been expecting to hear any day that they’ve shipped the modified rack to the Seven dealer here. Word has not yet come. However, I expect that by mid-July I will be able to unload the weight from my poor back into my new amazing panniers on my nice bike.

I have faith.

Make a Snide Remark