Update on Monday

     In light of the fact that this morning's post wasn't terribly uplifting, here's a bit of an update with a better outlook on life. Today started out pretty crappily: my first class started at 9am, which is usually when I'm cooking breakfast. So 7am saw me up and being very, very unhappy (I don't sleep when I know I have to get up early, 'cause I'm so worried I'll sleep through the alarm that I never drift off). Out the door by 7:45 meant that I ran into all the morning traffic that I usually skip on the highway, and once I found a parking spot (a bright moment in the day, as I found a new, emptier, and easier place to park), I discovered that my bike tires were almost out of air. I rode in to class anyway, and sat through one of the most boring intros to a class ever.

This is brilliant, wish I could do it!

 
     One of the main points of going to Russia was to avoid taking a class here at CU that I felt didn't fit in my schedule, and was taught by a grad student I'd had previously as a TA who was afraid of me. The class in Russia turned out to not be what it said it was, but by then I'd signed up for an Intro to International Relations class, with the thought that it would help me relate to Russia and world affairs better. And I'm sure it would, if it weren't for the fact that the class is at 9 am, they're predicting a heavier-snowfall-than-usual winter, it is on the opposite side of campus from where all my other classes are, and it's a lower div class, so it's in a 500-person auditorium and deals only with generalities. I do much better in smaller classes where you can actually ask questions if you're confused.

I got a bike! (Part 2)

So I'd discovered this past month that parking near campus and walking could make for a very lengthy walk indeed, and this was without students moving back into said residential neighborhood, and the possibility of 2-6" of snow on the ground. Time to revise the plan a bit.

Being as that my college is in one of the most bike- and pedestrian-friendly cities in the US (or so I believe), I decided it was time to get a bike. Since new bikes these days start- for a cheap bike at a general store- at about $120, I decided to take my search to my old friend, Cragislist. If you don't use Craigslist, I highly, highly recommend it. Within a week, I had found a mountain bike (for snowy days on campus) for just $40. It wasn't particularly fancy, but it had the basics that I needed: two wheels, two pedals, steering and brake mechanisms and gears for going up and down hills. That's good enough for me.

I got a bike! (Part 1)

Yes, as the title explains, I have bought a bike- and that's a bicycle rather than a motorcycle this time. It is substantially cheaper that the motorcycle was, even without the whole crashing-on-the-first-drive-home thing. Anyhow! In case you don't know why I decided to do this, despite being about as athletic as a panda bear, read on. If you do know the story already, skip ahead to the next post where current events resume.

For the last two years, I have forked over $174.25 per semester for what I believed was the privilege of having a parking spot on campus, and even in the same zip code as my classes. True, it was typically on-the-street parking, I would have to drive in circles til someone pulled out or I decided yes I really could fit my Honda in that spot, and I had to walk uphill to campus just to then walk downhill to where my classes were, but still, it was fairly convenient parking. This past semester, however, taught me all I need to know about campus parking, and the process by which parking admin officials' hearts slowly turn into shriveled husks of coal rather than warm, loving flesh.