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For Reals!

Day’s Verse:
Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the LORD has spoken.
Jeremiah 13:15

At work, I’ve been doing research on policies for “hiring” and “exiting” volunteers. The Bike Alliance doesn’t have any such policies even for staff that I can find (caveat: I’ve looked, but they could exist somewhere I’d never search. Asking staff for help is on my list), so it looks like I’ll be writing them myself.

In my research, I came across a web site whose first sentence said, and I quote, Continue Reading >>

Posted on by Katie

No Wonder

Day’s Verse:
Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God;
only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.
Proverbs 1:7

Now I know why my throat was sore after Bike Expo: Assuming I spent 30 seconds (probably a little long) talking to each visitor to the Bike Alliance booth for the entire 15 hours I spent at Bike Expo, I talked to 1,800 people.

On a totally different topic, check out this awesome road sign. It shows up at every intersection the 520 Bike Path crosses. Continue Reading >>

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Bike Expo: Day 2

Day’s Verse:
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Acts 7:55-56 (context)

Funny thing; Day 2 of Bike Expo felt essentially the same as Day 1. I woke up so achingly sore from Day 1 that I could hardly stand up, let alone walk around. Conceding to my tired muscles, I agreed to have Ian drop me off and pick me up. Good thing I did; he dropped me off about 2 miles from the Expo venue, and even riding that flat, short distance took serious effort. I think I’m having a difficult time adjusting my mindset from Artemis — a fairly fast, zippy, titanium bike — to Charlotte — a very slow, very rugged, very utilitarian bike. It’s hard for me to shift from pushing to go a certain speed to just enjoying the ride and taking my time. Continue Reading >>

Posted on by Katie

Being an Orca

Day’s Verse:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:7

At least I assume gathering in a pod and moving around together for a while means I’m an orca. Otherwise I guess it means I’m a Northwest Service Academy AmeriCorps intern participating in our first, but by no means last, “pod meeting.” On Friday, all the interns in my “pod” — most everybody in Washington State — gathered at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. One of the interns, Jenni, and her significant other stayed with my family Thursday and Friday night. They drove from Okanogan and needed a place to stay rather than spending 12 hours driving and 8 hours in Seattle. Continue Reading >>

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In Business

Day’s Verse:
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:30-31

Yesterday I got my FIRST EVER box of official business cards. I’m seriously so excited, it’s totally out of proportion with the cards themselves.

Another thing that excited me today: I saw a bald eagle by Enatai Beach on my commute this morning. Then I nearly crashed into the fence between me and the freeway because I was craning my neck to see the eagle. Continue Reading >>

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Like a Day Off, But Not Really

Day’s Verse:
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Psalm 37:5-6

It’s 10:41 and I’m not at work yet. This is very strange, but nice: I’ve gotten all sorts of things done that I don’t have energy to do at the end of the day. I got up and shaved my legs (feeling the breeze in my leg hair as I ride isn’t an experience I anticipate eagerly), washed some dishes, washed the sheets and remade the bed, cleaned the bathroom thoroughly, and made two loaves of chocolate chip banana nut bread. Generally these chores don’t bother me, but most workdays I arrive home so worn out that I can’t summon any more energy to actually do them. Now I’m thinking about doing some basic, routine bike maintenance — re-lubing my bike chain, wiping my gorgeous pink fenders down, and pumping up the tires. Continue Reading >>

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Volunteer Miscommunication

Day’s Verse:
“All day long I have held out my hands
to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
pursuing their own imaginations…”
Isaiah 65:2

Today I pretended to be an HR manager and wrote drafts of 18 job descriptions for activities we want volunteers to do. This is somewhat amusing, since I have no experience or qualification that makes me the right person for this task. Occasionally I will be doing something on the volunteer program and suddenly feel completely overwhelmed. Often this happens when I’m trying to talk to one of the staff people (not a specific one) and getting the sense that we really aren’t speaking the same language at all. Continue Reading >>