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Organizing, strikes, and kneepads
Today was about cleaning and organizing.
At work I went through quite a lot of old e-mails, organizing them, learning (and re-learning) a few things, checking and updating my documentation.
During lunch I got in 40 minutes of walking by going to Breed and Co., a local hardware store which is literally divided in half at the front door with the left side being full of manly things and the right side being full of girly things. I went to the girly section to look over plants and pots. I found a really nice 6-inch glazed pot which I thought might look nice on the window sill at my office for only US$4.50 and got it.
However, the pot mostly just captures the sunlight and converts it into glare, so I brought it home.
At home I caught up on some of my finances, some mopping, some laundry, some of my nutritional needs, and the dishes.
It's interesting how when you get enough laundry, you can make a whole load out of reds (with some pinks, oranges, and purples).
**
Our city bus drivers began striking today at noon. For some reason this did not affect campus shuttles, and several other popular routes were manned, at least to some extent. Also, extra services were made available for handicapped riders. Unlike New York City, our city does not come to a standstill when mass transit workers go on strike. From what I could tell, the drivers had gotten all their demands except that at the last minute their medical co-pays were to be increased by $5 per visit this year, and an additional $5 per visit next year.
In the past, drivers have had to deal with some pretty nasty working conditions, besides driving large unwieldy buses through nasty traffic, such as not being allowed to take enough bathroom breaks. I wouldn't mind having to walk or bike to work to support them. However, I think most non-students who ride the buses to work have to be on their feet all day. A lot get off at the hospital, for example. And I don't like to see them have to walk to work, too.
**
During my commute I got to read the part of my book where a character starts canoeing again after not having done so in a couple of decades. I also haven't canoed in a couple of decades. She was better than I ever was, but for some reason she doesn't seem to know that the boat is more stable if you sit lower in it. After she and her friend got shot at, she definitely should have told her friend to get off the seat and perhaps even lie in the bottom of the boat--also out of the sight of the shooter. (The friend was the intended victim, even.)
After they flipped, I'd hoped they'd hide under the boat with their heads inside above the water, and slowly kick it back to shore, because that's so cool that there's a big bubble of air under there, but, no, they just stayed on the side away from the shooter, which was also conveniently the side closest to the nearest shore.
Also the character makes a cushion to kneel on, but wouldn't knee pads be so much more practical? (And this is an exceeding practical character.) Maybe I'm biased about the knee pads because when my knees were hurting I made myself knee pads out of things I had on hand at summer camp. I had thin knee socks with Holly Hobbie on the sides which I had thought might be good for a costume. I folded a thick sock into a pad and slid it halfway down one of the knee socks which I then tied around my knee (with the knot at the side for maximum comfort). This worked quite well except for looking a bit odd. And it felt so much better on the hot and gritty canoe bottom.
At work I went through quite a lot of old e-mails, organizing them, learning (and re-learning) a few things, checking and updating my documentation.
During lunch I got in 40 minutes of walking by going to Breed and Co., a local hardware store which is literally divided in half at the front door with the left side being full of manly things and the right side being full of girly things. I went to the girly section to look over plants and pots. I found a really nice 6-inch glazed pot which I thought might look nice on the window sill at my office for only US$4.50 and got it.
However, the pot mostly just captures the sunlight and converts it into glare, so I brought it home.
At home I caught up on some of my finances, some mopping, some laundry, some of my nutritional needs, and the dishes.
It's interesting how when you get enough laundry, you can make a whole load out of reds (with some pinks, oranges, and purples).
**
Our city bus drivers began striking today at noon. For some reason this did not affect campus shuttles, and several other popular routes were manned, at least to some extent. Also, extra services were made available for handicapped riders. Unlike New York City, our city does not come to a standstill when mass transit workers go on strike. From what I could tell, the drivers had gotten all their demands except that at the last minute their medical co-pays were to be increased by $5 per visit this year, and an additional $5 per visit next year.
In the past, drivers have had to deal with some pretty nasty working conditions, besides driving large unwieldy buses through nasty traffic, such as not being allowed to take enough bathroom breaks. I wouldn't mind having to walk or bike to work to support them. However, I think most non-students who ride the buses to work have to be on their feet all day. A lot get off at the hospital, for example. And I don't like to see them have to walk to work, too.
**
During my commute I got to read the part of my book where a character starts canoeing again after not having done so in a couple of decades. I also haven't canoed in a couple of decades. She was better than I ever was, but for some reason she doesn't seem to know that the boat is more stable if you sit lower in it. After she and her friend got shot at, she definitely should have told her friend to get off the seat and perhaps even lie in the bottom of the boat--also out of the sight of the shooter. (The friend was the intended victim, even.)
After they flipped, I'd hoped they'd hide under the boat with their heads inside above the water, and slowly kick it back to shore, because that's so cool that there's a big bubble of air under there, but, no, they just stayed on the side away from the shooter, which was also conveniently the side closest to the nearest shore.
Also the character makes a cushion to kneel on, but wouldn't knee pads be so much more practical? (And this is an exceeding practical character.) Maybe I'm biased about the knee pads because when my knees were hurting I made myself knee pads out of things I had on hand at summer camp. I had thin knee socks with Holly Hobbie on the sides which I had thought might be good for a costume. I folded a thick sock into a pad and slid it halfway down one of the knee socks which I then tied around my knee (with the knot at the side for maximum comfort). This worked quite well except for looking a bit odd. And it felt so much better on the hot and gritty canoe bottom.