walking

THE BEGINNING
12 days ago, I decided to start ... [riding/skating/boarding?]. As commuter, I'm sometimes a runner, mostly bike-rider and often public-transit user, but rarely a walker; it occurred to me that while cruising around SF, a board would be one of the most useful accessories for transport. Walking is the slowest, most inefficient means to travel, and it doesn't even increase your heart rate. Running, I mostly do only if I'm racing to cross the street as the signal counts down, to catch that OWL or BART that runs every 15 to catch the Caltrain connection. Bikes are the fastest, but hills are still hills, and no matter how slow I try to go, I still need a few minutes to cool off. I can bike to most destinations in SF within 40 minutes, but a BART/Muni/Bus ride + bike can cut many to only 20 minutes, so that is ideal. However, BART only takes bikes if the train isn't crowded, busses only carry 2 bikes, Caltrain has a bike limit and Muni's LRVs don't allow bikes. This is where the magical board comes in. A board has wheels, so one can easily, quickly travel 1 mile to a more convenient transit stop, carry it - no big deal at all. I can catch a bus, skate a few blocks, hop on the LRV, and be on my merry way.

I decided to get a board and try to learn. I got on my favorite shopping-website: craigslist. Local, and second-hand purchases, what could be better for the economy? ;) I've tried both skate- and longboards, but have found that I really much prefer the bouncy-ness of the longboard. I found a used board for $20 and promptly set off - on foot and bus - to pick it up. I'm super impatient, so instead of walking the 5 blocks from the bus stop to the indicated address, I ran 4 and cooled off the last 1. I met the seller, gave him and a crisp bill and strolled away with my board. Although I've borrowed friends' boards for 5 minutes here and there and once visiting a friend in London borrowed his board and skated around here and there for a few days, I would not say I am 'know' or am 'good.' I have been on a board, know how to push forward and that I have the balance, but have to practice a lot more to acquire the intuition. That said, I slowly propelled myself on the flats of the street en route to my friend's house, where I showed it off and then went home.

Determined to practice as much as possible, I ditched my bike and started using the board to get to the train station. It was little more challenging: with a backpack, I had to recalibrate the minimal, but existing, sense of balance I had with just my body - I had to counter not just the mass, but shift in center of gravity. But, I got on okay. Got to work, skated to the cafeteria, back, around the parking lot, no big deal. I was getting comfortable...

THE ACCIDENT
I rode mishap-free for five days. On the fifth day of ownership, I started pushing harder - just bending the left knee a bit more to have more forward reach for a stronger push (I ride regular). Worked for a few kicks, but I overextended once, mis-stepped and ended up on my butt, board racing away from me. Undeterred, I stood up, ran after the board, and started again. I eased off a bit for a few minutes, regained my comfort and started pushing harder once more. Again, I misstepped, but this time I fell forward, hard. I saved my face and knees, but jammed three fingers on my left hand.

THE DRAMA
Getting a board is in line with my existential dilemma: rather than setting resolutions for 2016, I quickly made resolutions for 2015 in early November, that I could push myself to do them: one, start playing my clarinet again (kudos to an OkC date for encouraging me to buy sheet music!, and to GS for agreeing to play as a duo with me in some future open mic,); two, learn to ski (thanks to work for arranging weekend-long ski/board packages so all I have to do is how up somewhere at 4AM for a trip to Tahoe!); three, actually take that MSF course (infinity grateful for my sisters for agreeing to join)! In the first few minutes after slipping off the board, I was just in shock, but as the swelling set in, my fingers got stiff and started to hurt a lot, the severity of my injury hit my emotional stability even harder: I couldn't play clarinet, I wouldn't be able to grip clutch on the motorcycle, I wouldn't be able to ski. Since I was on the street, I din't want to cry, but I sure felt the sobs building up.

THE INJURY
Index, middle and ring fingers hyperextended. For the first 12 hours, they didn't swell too much, as I iced every 2 hours for 15 minutes and consistently kept my hand above my heart. Next 12 hours, bruising on the inside (palm-side) of the knuckles on the ring and middle finger. Stiffness and so much swelling - it was difficult to make a fist... But, I persevered, diligently icing at the appropriate intervals and doing noting but nurse my hand that weekend. One week later, ring and index fingers are fine, but middle finger is still swollen - the ligaments at the MCP were injured, and dorsal-blocking splint at decreasing angles for the next few weeks should do the trick.

The implications of this are - I can't play clarinet, I have difficultly giving thumbs-up without appearing to flip people off, I can't get a motorcycle, and I can't brake on my bicycle. I could, I guess, but the potential for further injury is increased, and same goes for the longboard. As such, I am wheels-free.

THE WALKING
Independent of my fiasco, I am trying to run with a friend who is training for a race, but now that I can't bike or ride [I mean, I know I can, but at this age, I've learned the importance of giving injuries the time the require, even if I have't learned to measure my risks ;) ], I've been running MORE and... WALKING - it's good times. Always exploring new hoods, new hills, new staircases, new free piles! I don't run to the station because running with back packs is just annoying. I walk. I leave 10 minutes earlier. Go grab coffee. Stroll to the station. In the evenings, I'll go for a walk and just look around, think of the people, the houses, the cats. I am learning to appreciate walking as its own thing, rather than being annoyed. In the past, a 1-mile walk seemed like the worst thing, and I would just be thinking of how I could have been home 10 minutes ago. In the past, I would walk fast and run every other block to reduce the time it took to get wherever I was going. In the past, I would run after a bus for two blocks if it would carry me only three more.
Today - I walk all those five blocks, and I enjoy them. Today, I take in the whole mile stroll. Today, I'll just walk.

THE MAGIC
Each transport mean has its own merit. A bicycle is almost as expedient as a car in the city - you don't struggle to find parking! But, you're on the road with other un-alert, self-righteous, narcissistic drivers and cyclists. Your mind has to be on the road, on the traffic. Sure, on familiar paths with good bike lanes, maybe you don't have to pay as much attention, but that's still not smart. I assume it will be the same for a motorcycle. A board is probably the happy-medium: you can cruise at a slowish-speed, take in the streets, the smells, the people, the air then - you can hop off and run or walk; walking or running with a bike is totally doable, but still physically awkward. Walking is still slow, but I am learning to appreciate this experience, so much more with a pleasant friend.
Walking is my new pastime, even if it's been forced on me.

are you sick?

Yes, yes I am. Yes, I am drinking orange juice fortified with iron, and eating soup and not sleeping with wet hair and wearing a scarf and drinking [your favorite ethnic/herbal remedy] and not drinking milk and ...

Look, I've been sick before. I was sick when I was young and my mom made me soup, I was sick in college when a nice boyfriend or another went to the pharmacy and brought me *quil, and I've been sick since, taken care of myself and done just fine; but you - you think you've got a solution I haven't yet tried? Oh, you drank orange juice one time and it perked you right up? Really, now- did you run a control? This tea your mom always made killed that cold within 24 hours? Cool story, bro. I've got my own unquantified remedies, too!

I'm not inept and don't need your advice - if you are sincerely concerned, bring me a can of soup or make me tea you're suggesting, rather thank merely suggesting. I've got it under control on my own, thanks!

peace, love and... waffles?

science vs. engineering

do you know the difference?
Science
From Cambridge: (knowledge from) the careful study of the structure and behaviour of the physical world , especially by watching , measuring , and doing experiments , and the development of theories to describe the results of these activities
From Webster's: knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation; knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method.

Engineering
From Cambridge: to design and build something using scientific principles
From Webster's: to plan, build, or manage (something) by using scientific methods


If you say you're 'going to try science, know that it implies you'll be testing an assumption or answering a question using a systematic approach; most likely people mean you're going to engineer something, which by definition is using science to some end.

Science: "I think a styrofoam raft will float but a lead one will not" and then you build both to assess.
Engineering: "I'm going to build a styrofoam raft because some people in the past have determined that it's better" and then you embark on a river cruise.

Music

In 2006, a dorm-builing-mate and I traded CDs and doubled our music collections, respectively. I got some Rentals and Ozma, he got some Caravan and Yes. Yes, I own Caravan and Yes CDs.

It's weird. Who would do that now? How do we trade music these days? Do we? I suppose we just send links to YouTube or Groovshark, Pandora or whatever. Send a link to a playlist for a friend.

I like physically trading music better. You actually got to see the person and interact.

I'm old.

Good Quotes

... "my own nefarious reasons." ... "as smooth curve, not smooth like a cat." ... "that's all we care about. I mean not in life, we care about other things in life, but right now." "Either from rigorous considerations or blind faith, you should find it plausible that..." "In the name of simplicity, we will therefore continue to commit such abuses and urge you to do likewise." :D

Solar Ecplise

This kind of event supposedly happens every 20 years or so, so a few times in one's lifetime. I wanted to watch it with someone, so I ride my bike over to my friend's, hoping she was home. She was, and tired of being indoors and packing, she was ready to go for a walk. She wasn't psyched about it at all, or even cared, but we did go for a walk. Being on the North Coast on all, of course there's a storm system coming in at the end of May, so it was mostly cloudy. However... The reason I'm even posting anything is because I had a particular experience, which is that as we were walking down the street to my most favorite playground in this town, a wind blew the scent of the ocean to us. Yes, we're on the bay and less than five miles from the beach, but in all my years here, I haven't ever smelled the ocean whilein town. It was cool and fresh and just, weird. The fog's in, and just above the marine layer is a real storm, so I can't even see the sun; don't know if it's eclipsed. Don't know anything but that it's the first time I've smelled the ocean on that street, and it was amazing.

Kitchen Scales

Apparently it's all the rage to measure ingredients in dry ounces or grams, rather than by good old volume. It all seems a little ridiculous, though, when we think of all these 'authentic' ethnic foods: Did grand-mère really measure out 700mg of butter for her quiche crust? Did abuelita sort through all the peppers to find one that would bring the mass to 500mg for mole? I see a lot of mg-oz conversions as well, and I swear you've got to be losing 3mg just to rounding, so chill. out.