I could almost bike to work, if I were so inclined. Almost. The river crossing was closed to bike traffic in 2002. I knew I remembered crossing the river by bicycle, and now I know that I was not imagining things. Stupid safety concerns. I'm pretty sure that they will not be building a new bike bridge anytime this decade. :^(

In other bike news, the overly helpful salesperson at the bike shop to which I went helpfully suggested that I wait until their bigger big sale at the actual end of the season. I found a bike I want; it was so light I could probably lift it with one finger, which is very helpful for when you lose 9 of your fingers in a tragic machete incident. It was also almost $700. I don't think that bike's fate involves being in the trunk of my car.

EDIT:
It even has a name! Gap 76.

I bought a shelf today. I also almost caused the front page in tomorrow's newspaper to read "Area Woman Indicted in Allen Wrench Slaying."

Everytime either one of us purchases a some-assembly-required piece of furniture, we persist in thinking that it will work for "us" to put it together. And everytime we are reminded of why an odd number of pieces of furniture must never be purchased. Because we are both absolutely certain that we have the One True and Perfect method of assembling it in a timely manner.

6 or 7 fights over plastic dowels and hammers later, Some Guy finally announced that for the sake of his life and our relationship, he would be leaving the room for the 10 minutes it took to put together the shelf.

I really hope we remember this next time, but I doubt we will. Dibs on the hammer.

There were about 2 miles of slow/stopped vehicles on the road. As my brother-in-law slowed down, he noticed that the girl behind him was not slowing. He angled off to the side to prevent an x-car pile up. She hit him anyway. His angling off to the side probably saved the girl's life and their own because the collision wasn't as direct. It did, however, cause their truck to roll over 4 times and their dog to jump out and be killed. Because somebody couldn't pay enough fucking attention to the miles of stopped vehicles in front of their face.

The girl says that my brother-in-law stopped suddenly and "for no reason at all." Her insurance company is denying culpability unless they hear an eyewitness account. Witnesses so far place my brother-in-law as driving the girl's black car and my 13-year old niece as driving their large blue truck. *rolls eyes*

Dogs are considered "property" and, as Sandy was not a purebred, the insurance company will not compensate them for her death. They had her cremated.

Healthwise, they are all doing okay. They're all seeing a chiropractor, and my niece has a pretty bad gash on her leg that will probably leave a scar. She's apparently happy about this because it will be a reminder of her dog.

I have never returned from a vacation feeling more drained than I am now.

It was actually all good until yesterday. I knew I would be returning home to a not-terribly-familiar place filled with boxes, but it wasn't helped by my roommate's legs being covered in chemical burns, her leaving for the airport on business an hour after I arrived home, and my tearful sister calling to let me know that they had been in a pretty bad accident on their way home from said vacation and, while they were okay (fortunate, considering that their truck rolled 4 times and my niece was laying down in the back not wearing a seatbelt), their dog jumped out of the truck and ran into traffic. She was an 8-year old yellow lab/collie mix. They adopted her when she was 4 months old.

It's also terribly unnerving how isolated one can be made to feel without internet access.

And now I have to go do what passes for work.

Two days.
Two injuries.
Two fires.
One Woman.

There is really something to be said for the advantages of long distance relationships. Or rather not said, at least not in polite company.

There's not any polite company out there, is there?

I'm pretty sure Mr. Emalb has done this before, but to celebrate my new 8-mile (15-minute) commute, I'm doing it again.

The length of my commute is...

A) Commute? I can sit my ass at home all day if I like. Neener neener neener.
B) 1-10 minutes
C) 11-17 minutes
D) 18-33 minutes
E) 34-52 minutes
F) 53-forever minutes. I never really liked home anyway.
G) Commute? I keep a sleeping bag at work.

I think the CEO just gave me an ice cream bar.

As real-world people who aren't janeowit are annoying.

No puedo hacer los simbolos especiales en mi computadora de trabajo. Por esto, lo siento.

Recientemente, no me gusta la vida de mi. Es un sensacion horible, pero no puedo ayudarme. Pero, necesito ayudarme. Especialmente porque ire a una entrevista de trabajo hoy. No puedo ser triste para las personas que posiblemente a mi dan una trabajo.

Sea feliz, Czarina Burrito!

Quien es más loco que yo? Nadie, te digo. También, hablo español como un oso hablando con monos. No es bonito. Se Amo, la gente de barrapunto!

Today I turned off my alarm while still asleep. This does not bode well for the day, methunk. Indeed, there was activated charcoal residue in my morning cup of agua from the water filter. When I got to work, this machine that was supposed to run over the weekend had stopped at some point. I crushed a sample that I was supposed to mount. And then slashdot was broken. If I were an orange cat , I would think this was the grand Monday Conspiracy plotting against me. Hurrah for Tuesday!