Spillage on Grant Street

This is my bad ass blue leg.

Nothing weird ever happens to me, but today I fell off my bicycle (Ginnie beware). Actually, when I think about it, I'm a little surprised it didn't happen sooner. So, I turned onto this semi busy street, looking behind me to possibly turn left a block or so up and there is a string of cars there. They seem to be following me at my 15 mph pace waiting for me to go left (there is no street to turn onto yet, mind you). I wave them past me, and again they hesitate, but eventually start passing me, and I feel like they are now trying to run me off the road. I decide to turn into a driveway and wait until they pass to cross the road (and take the safer sidewalk) but there is a pool of water at the bottom of the driveway and a slight grade up. My front tire completely turned around and I found myself awkwardly planted on the concrete with my ankle scraped (no blood) and what I know will be badly bruised. I already have the appearance of a hemophiliac ever since I started taking prophylactic aspirin daily. Luckily, none of the cars stopped to make a scene, but a lady a few houses down getting her garbage can asked if I was all right.

Safety plan: eventually I will have to get a helmet, but when you ride at the pace I do, it just looks stupid. I could always use the beautiful sidewalk on this particular street, but I feel it was put there for walkers, and there are quite a few I would offend. Other than that, I will be a little more tentative and aware of those routes that make me a little uncomfortable.

Thursday

I have finished my one and one half hours of studying for my social work licensing exam (an optional step I am fool enough to pursue) tonight so I am free to do whatever. Whatever has been, sorting through scrapbook pictures/papers/etc. in preparation for tomorrow night's class, checking Facebook to see that there are still no new exciting stuff going on in the world, picking a large bucket of corn in a field, riding around in the 1968 International Harvester truck, looking up a Weight Watchers recipe and getting distracted by a new blog called "Simply Nurtured." The writing was good although I am in a very different life stage than the author. I guess in my young parenting days I was experimenting with different parental philosophies, too, so I shouldn't be critical of differences in that area. I have become much more conservative in my parenting, though I seem to have little need to discipline or intervene in my children's lives at this point. Maybe I just think other parents should be a little more authoritarian with their children, even if I was not. My tolerance for other people's children has never been as high as for that of my own, which may explain it.

So, my goal is to study 1 1/2 hours daily and take the exam on August 9. That means working on my so-called vacation. As if the entire summer since May 28 hasn't been one big VACATION. We are going down to spend time with my sister in Southern Indiana the first of August.

Saga

Okay, I admit I am hooked on the Twilight movies. As much as the picture above might infer, I am not, however, one of those bizarre Twi-Moms that I think should be kept away from all teenage boys. I found the first Twilight book to be quite mediocre and so I did not pursue reading the series as many of my friends (admittedly younger than me) did. I really enjoyed the first movie, I think the music had a lot to do with it. It was very artfully done. The actors were all new to me, fresh, and very interesting. I thought the second movie was just stupid and created to promote Taylor Lautner's abs. There's something creepy about 30 and 40something women gushing over a 17 year old boy's body. So, I'll leave it at that. The ending was really dumb and furthers the ridiculous notion that girls need only live to marry the man of their dreams and they will live happily ever after. Balderdash!

That brings me to movie #3. When I first heard about the infamous "tent scene" (I won't ruin it for y'all who haven't seen it and plan to) I immediately thought of Guinevere and her evening with King Arthur and Lancelot all in bed together. That would set off some bells in less constricted women than I! The idea of the love triangle kept my attention nonetheless and was well acted (very palpable performance by Lautner), though I am tiring of Edward's incessant whispering/brooding/depressed characterizations. I loved the opening of the movie, because I know Robert Frost is not high brow poetry, but I adore him anyway.

On a hot summer day, with my old work pals, Twilight was a perfect distraction from life's realities. I do understand, as a female, how it has captured a huge audience as it evokes those long dormant romantic feelings from youth and provides an escape from the ho hum grind of daily life for many women. It also may have to do with the fantasy of being dominated ("changed" "imprinted") by a man.

But who are these men who go to Twilight and unashamedly join teams? And, please, for the sake of humanity, grown women, stop having adult Twilight parties and get a job or a life. You are setting a bad example for your daughters.