More Crap

Wow, I even just created a new label for the category CRAP.

So the woman who swam into my skull on Monday sent me $150 cash. Why do I feel bad about using it? I guess I am almost in shock that she owned up and was kind enough to compensate for my loss of contact lens, although really it's not so much the money but the thought that counts.

The kid who's dog bit me lied about his phone number--but I will find that dog and its adult owner.

I don't have La Gazza Ladra--that happens on Friday. I had made an appointment for yesterday, but I called on Monday to check whether this was going to happen or not, and they weren't sure. So I call again Tuesday morning, and the bike was ready, but they don't have my shoes, cages or skewers. So I ask when they will be in, and they say Thursday. Great! Only Thursday I can't come in (massage day plus 2 hours of workout--sorry, no more time in the day for me!), so I'm going on Friday.

This morning I was awakened again by the same car/truck that has been waking me up at least once a week for the last 4 weeks or so. I really wanted to go back to sleep, but it was 4:15, and today that was not happening. So I put on my coat and go outside and guess what? There is my newspaper! So it's the newspaper delivery person's vehicle. Now it makes perfect sense, that that vehicle slows down in front of my house (the neighbor across the street gets the same newspaper) and then goes up the street slowly, makes a left, throws some more papers and then does a reverse back onto my street. I called the newspaper company today and had a nice chat with Customer Service. It was entertaining when the woman began saying, "Yes, ma'am, I will make sure that..." and then she sort of stuttered, and I knew she didn't know exactly what she was going to be able to guarantee me. I could tell (since I'm in Customer Service myself) that she was following some sort of script/process, and I wasn't going to be satisfied with some pat answer. So I chimed in and told her that I wanted to be sure she understood the issue, which is that this vehicle sounds as if it has no muffler (which is illegal, as far as I know), and that it is waking up myself and others on my street, and that the company will lose a number of subscribers if this persists. I also told her I don't want the driver fired--I am just requesting that he/she get the vehicle repaired so that it makes less noise and doesn't wake us up! She assured me she'd speak with the person's Supervisor. She had better!

It seems to me that the more crowded this world becomes the less many people consider the impact of their behavior on others. Couple that with a deep fear many people have of saying anything to these offenders out of concern for one's own safety, and one can infer that there's a lot of unnecessary stress going on. I'm sure not suggesting that if you are cut off while driving that you attempt to catch up with said driver to let them know or even flip them off (responding to poor drivers like that just compounds road rage incidents); but when an opportunity presents to have a rational discussion with another person about their behavior, do it!

Under duress, I can become quite vocal. When I was bit by the dog, it hurt like a sonofabitch, and it induced a screaming response from me. I know that must have frightened the young boy, but once he regained control of the dog, I calmed down, which is when I asked for a phone number (he gave me one but he lied). When I was slammed in the face on Monday and my goggles broke and flew off my face, my first response was to ask what the other person was doing. I always figure if there's some sort of rational explanation, I'd like to hear it, because sometimes there can be extenuating circumstances. Like let's say the dog's leash broke--OK, it wasn't the kid's fault entirely. Or I suddenly decided to swim in the middle or on the other side of the lane, even though I had been swimming on the one side for 2,000 yards. Hey, if it's my fault I owe an apology. If something truly couldn't be helped, then, well, that's life.

But nowadays people run into parked cars and don't leave notes, they clip their freaking toenails in public view in a locker room and think nothing of it even while being told it's disgusting, they get stoned and drunk and blare their stereo at 2:00AM, they blare their stereo while washing their car, they drop cigarette butts in your yard, they piss their dog in your flower bed, they walk their child in a stroller on an indoor running track, they let their young kids run around like wild monkeys in a gym, they believe turn signals are optional, they fail to look both ways when making turns and nearly run you down on your bike, they don't vote and then complain about elected officials.

Life is about 4 small words: DO THE RIGHT THING

To which I would add: AND WHEN YOU FUCK UP, BUCK UP.

Because we all fuck up every now and then. Lord knows I'm not perfect! And let's hope I never forget an "I'm sorry" or "Thank you." Because it's just as important to reinforce GOOD behavior as it is to own up to our own bad behavior.

Bunch o' Crap

That's all I can say. I'm not even posting my totals for last week--I will just summarize things that have happened in the past 3 days:

• Friday night: stupid stoner neighbor's dad is blaring stereo again until 2AM. I should have been able to fall back asleep, but I took some Tylenol sleep just to be sure.
• Saturday morning: Have a hangover from the Tylenol sleep, and I bag my bike workout after 1:15, and no run afterwards.
• Saturday afternoon: The chainrings that came with the Ergomo are defective, but my LBSG is going to swap out some Franken-combo of Shimano and FSA. I also now have a Campy front derailleur because the Dura Ace didn't fit on my miniature frame.
• Sunday: Get a good night's rest, but feel dizzy-ish; not sure why. Manage to have a good 1:30 run on a flat trail.
• Today: Having a great swim, almost done, and bonehead woman swims into my face! My goggles literally break in half and I lose a contact lens to the water. She calls it an "honest mistake." Not me, lady. On the plus side, she's offered to pay money to replace the lens. On the negative side, I'm not sure I have a legitimate phone number for her. I think she's got some mental issues. On the plus side, got an eye exam and switched to soft lenses, which will be a lot more comfortable, and the eye doctor is a triathlete!
• Today, continued: Call my insurance company to get them to fix THEIR PROBLEM of sending my flood insurance bill to the mortgage lender! This happened last year, and my mortgage holder yelled at me like it was my fault!
• Today, continued: Call my FSA holder because they sent me a statement but no check. Thankfully, they are cutting a new check for $200 to me.
• Today, continued: Received notification that my primary care physician is no longer part of the network I am in. It will suck to switch, but switch I must.

Some days, it seems like life is a bunch of mostly crap with some bright spots thrown in there just to keep you from "snuffing it," as my buddy Alex would say. While I am not having those sorts of thoughts, sometimes things can appear a bit overwhelming. And then I hear about others, like my coach, who has had a couple of bad bike crashes in the last few weeks (he's OK, thankfully--I told him to stop crashing), and yesterday I spent about an hour on the phone with my friend, Matt, who's in hospital in Germany recovering from back surgery. At least Matt will not be redeployed to Afghanistan, so in a perverse sort of way, his back injury was a blessing in disguise.

I'm sure that once the eyedrops wear off and I am no longer light sensitive or nauseous (light sensitivity and nausea go hand in hand for me) and I get in a short run and some weights that my outlook will improve! I don't think the week can get any worse, so here's to things picking up!