Assorted summer notes

It's kind of hard for me to figure out when to write during the summer. I have too darned much free time is what it is.

I've been biking a lot. I had a long period of inactivity because I was injured and was really feeling the need to get out and do something, so I've been riding 6 days a week, about 15 miles a day on the average. This is gratifying to me because when I'm not active I feel old, and being able to ride 15 or 20 miles on hills confirms to me that I'm not dead yet. The main problem is the heat, which prevents me from riding anywhere there's no shade, like the river drives and the Schuylkill bike trail. Just try putting together a 20 mile ride that doesn't include either of these and isn't insanely hilly.

I enjoy these rides. It's just me, and I'm able to toggle back and forth between stream of consciousness and being totally focused on the ride itself. If you're going to ride on busy suburban roads, you'd better be able to focus, because knowing the rules of the road is totally up to the cyclist; drivers are clueless about how to deal with a bicycle. They're afraid to pass, they come up behind and honk, they make left turns right in front of you. And because you're so focused you feel very much a part of your surroundings, as opposed to being insulated in a car. 

Anyway, I'm managing with the heat okay. I try to ride reasonably early in the morning when it's only in the upper 80's. And then later I'm swimming laps. It's a tough life.

The other two things I'm doing are cleaning my desk and creating a new class from scratch. The desk part is way tougher. The class is about business math, a topic I know more about that probably anyone in the school, so I'm not too worried about being second guessed. My next post will be the first in a series chronicling the birth of this class and its curriculum. Sounds fascinating, I know.

I have, however, reached a key point in the cleaning of the desk. Now when I away, you can see a difference. This may sound silly but it's been months, if not years, since that was the case.

In other cleaning news, I spent an hour and change scrubbing the outdoor furniture. Cleaning anything outside seems kind of silly to me, in the same way making the bed is waste of time. There is nothing so anxious to be not clean as something outside. As I scrubbed the chaise lounges I kept wondering how something could get so dirty, until it dawned on me that these things wanted to be dirty. That's why they chose to be outdoor furniture

Got to make a quick third trip to Chicago to pick up my daughter. I always like going there, and now my daughter is enamored of the place as well. This time around I took the L from the airport into the city. This is a long trip, but cheap and easy and not unpleasant in any way. Once I got to the center of town I eschewed changing trains and walked up to my hotel, then to a restaurant I like called Q. Sorry, I didn't take the L to Q.

I'll tell you, this place is hopping on a pleasantly warm summer Friday night. The street was packed with attractive young people and any restaurant with outdoor seating was overflowing at 10 PM. It was a very lively scene.