Bad blogger is bad!

Hi JS, I'm still here as I have been for nearly 10 years now! (Weird, right?)

So life is lifey. I'm working two jobs at the moment, one at my beloved place and the other in fast food. HOPEFULLY the fast food gig will change next week since I interviewed at the library yesterday. I'm really really hoping to be hired!

I've been fairly busy. As ever I'm a volunteering freak and have signed up for two events with the bike community in August, am working some extra hours, and am putting in some docent time. On the side of that I help run another group, although I'm so hyper organized with it that August should be no problem.
Hi, I'm Lo and I'm an advanced planner! (But if I don't do that then a month goes by and spits me out like a sharknadoe.)

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I JUST bought a new bike yesterday and I'm pretty excited about it. My old ride, Nazgul, was definitely at its end. The brakes were shot, the front wheel nut kept slipping even with regular tightening, and the gears were eh.
It's very strange riding a new bike with the weight adjustment alone! Nazgul's frame weighted around 50 lbs and I got really used to biking with all that metal. I don't have to push nearly as hard with my new one which feels WEIRD! I had to adjust the gears so I could have some more similar resistance until I get acclimated to the lightness. The lightness also means that the new bike turns at a thought. And then there are the brakes! I can squeeze down gently to stop as opposed to having to crank back! I thought it would take me a bit of time to adjust but given that I've been driving more recently I just treat my bike brakes like they are car brakes and gently press until I come to a stop.
There is a feature in the bike seat too where it absorbs some shock, so if I hit a pot hole unexpectedly it doesn't totally kill my groin! (Had that happen once and I had a squeaky voice for the next few minutes.) It will even better as I steadily adjust my seat up higher and carry more weight in my arms and legs. I have it slighly slower at the moment as I become comfortable with stopping. I DEFINITELY need to move the seat tilt! I have no idea how people can stand have to them angled up at all!

Motoring around on my new wheels should be fun. It has enough gears to handle CNY and other terrains. I do see myself advancing to different bikes at some point, maybe geared toward more speed/utility. For now I am quite happy! Nazgul has been donated to the Recycle-a-Bike program and will be given new life provided someone doesn't mind how weighty it is. I'm going to have to start working out in earnest now!

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The boyfriend and I were out of town recently to see my parents but the trip felt too short. It was nice to get in hiking and seeing family and all but time flies when you only have four days off! We're making another trip in August but this one will be out to the midwest for a wedding Matt is in.
That is the main problem that Matt and I face with trips- our families and some of our good friends are all out of town! We have to really pick and chose what trips we take. With me working part time jobs and having no paid time off it sucks. Hopefully by next year I will be in a better place with finances and job.

Speaking of finances, I know I do really well with mine but the thought that I'll have only just finished paying my student loans at the age of 30 SUCKS! It's an oppressive and awful thought. I think I'd rather cut back on indulgences and just put money toward my debt. I know I have it better than a lot of college students (it's only $14,000) but it's still a scary thought when I think about it. I really don't know how my generation can handle it! Again, I hope to be persistant and have it paid off sooner than later. Being in number crunching mode sucks.

SO ENOUGH WITH THAT!
I don't think I posted it on here but I have my driver's license! I got it back in March and I seldom drive to be quite honest but it is a good thing to have. It means I can actually take some of the load when doing long distance driving, can drive into work when the weather is nasty, and check that box on applications! I'm really thankful to the driving instructor who DRILLED me in the hour before the lesson and taught me things I have ingrained in my memory! (Strange thing- I took three lessons with the same driving school, one instructor, and this gentleman taught me more in one hour than the other instructor did in three.)

Other than that no big news from me really. Just doin' the adulthood thing still.

Peace.
~Lo