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Tuesday, August 15, 2006

(small) Stroke of luck

Date: August 14 and 15
Mileage: 13.7 and 4.7
August mileage: 174.9
Temperature upon departure: 55

Today I did a short ride but a decidedly long run. I've had a recent deluge of little annoyances that I attribute to bad luck. The latest involved popping a tube on the Douglas highway this morning, only to learn that my portable bike pump has seized up (probably due to rust or an inordinate amount of road grit.) So rather than hitchhike or shamefully limp my bike down the highway, I stashed it in the woods and jogged five miles back to town. It only took me 45 minutes! It was a short five miles, but still, I felt really good after the run. Probably even better than I would have if I completed the ride.

One flat tire does not a bad luck streak make, but there have been other incidences. The other night, I went to a Laundromat and stuck a load in, which failed to drain completely during the rinse cycle. I stuck to whole dripping mass in a dryer for an hour and did some grocery shopping, but my laundry was still nearly as wet when I returned. So I ran the dryer for another hour, left again, and when I came back, some of my clothes had - for lack of a better word - melted. Others were still damp. I'm pretty sure I've seen that Laundromat on a rerun of "The Twilight Zone." Then, as I was leaving, I stuck a pair of shoes on top of my car and accidentally left them there. Those are gone. And let's not even talk about the black cat back in Homer.

But I think my bad luck streak is breaking, at least in part. A benevolent co-worker hooked me up with a longterm motel room today, where I can stay until his mother arrives at the end of August. It's suck an anomaly - Mini fridge! 30' television! Roof! I showed up at work today raving about it like I had just spent the night at the Four Seasons, and my co-worker cut me off to remind me that it's a budget motel. Doesn't matter. My rolled-up tent is still fermenting in rainwater in my trunk. It's all about context.

10 comments:

  1. thank the stars for small favors...

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  3. Glad to hear you now have a real roof over your head. I've been following your saga. Despite your troubles you still post the best pics.

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  4. I'd think you could tell your co-worker to eff off and not bother being critical or an ass until they've offered you their spare bedroom. Sheesh. Some people gotta rain on every parade!

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  5. Nicely done co-worker. May she get the best muffins in the conference room all week.

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  6. Yummy fremented tent water...

    Glad to hear you have a roof over your head for a few weeks at least...

    I need to get up there soon and check stuff out

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  7. Great blog I love the pictures you slide in there to complement your excelent text.
    I've really been enjoying following your trials and tribulations with looking for a place to stay. Stay on the firing line of life! And please keep writing about it too. You might just encourage a few more of us to break out of our comfort zones and try living out there in the world rather than just reading and longing for something more, here at home.

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  8. i like your attitude! you're absolutely correct when you say "it's all about context"! keep smiling!

    peace out, yo!

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  9. Okay, this is weird.

    I thought I was posting a comment to your blog earlier and it ended up as a post on my site (soon to be removed).

    Anyway, my comment: "I totally thought you were joking about living in a tent! Wow."

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