Double-Handed

Hey, whaddya know?  Suddenly this morning I can type with both hands!
My 1st physiotherapist visit last week went really well, focussing on improving the range of movement in my arm and getting some strength back.  Four days later, and my hand is 1/2 the size it was, and i'm no longer totally gimpy.  I'm going to have to try not to push it too hard, but I think typing is within the range/tension window my treatment is planned for.


And what a day for a new blog post.  I turned on my PC this morning, and saw this news story about a woman in Dubai who was raped and then charged with "having sex outside marriage."

I'm all for religious freedom.  I personally don't believe in a higher power, I'm not spiritual.  I'm an evolutionist, and don't really care enough about faith to investigate the opinions that, as unlikely as I think, could actually be true.  My opinion is just as valid as a believer's.

Having said that, when religion shapes law so strictly that no common sense can be allowed, something has to change.  How on earth should that poor woman have had to endure this violation, and then be punished when she notified the police???  There's something seriously wrong, evident from the fact that it went as far as it did.
You want to outlaw consentual sex outside of marriage, in a country with a fundamental religious link to the state?  That's fair, I guess.  I don't agree with it, but I'm not forced to live there or follow these rules.  I can live in a place that fits MY values (current local and federal governments aside).  There is certainly a valid arguement to force separation of church and state, however I don't want to devote the time to that today.  Basically, it's YOUR country and if you want to have religious laws, and this is in line with your national values, so be it.  But when someone is forced to "commit this crime,"  especially a crime that is only really victimizing the perpetrator, how on earth can she be assigned the blame?

It makes me want to put the UAE on my list of no-go locations, just to protest the only way I can!

Forced Haitus

I’m still alive.

Last Friday I had a bike accident.  Because of a set of slippery streetcar tracks i broke my elbow, mashed up my hand, and hit my head hard enough to cause a seizure.

I’ll be fine, but for now I’m in constant pain.  And typing 1-handed takes FOREVER.  I just don’t have time to write.

Redeux!

Yesterday morning I biked to work.  Seeing a friend as I walked to the door, I stopped to chat for a few minutes.

The world suddenly went flippy, and I had to sit down for a few minutes.  As I sat, my body exploded with sweat.

When I felt better (but still a little shaky), I went up to my office.  Dropping my bag and coffee off, I went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face.  Looking in the mirror, my skin was a pasty white/green palour.  After a couple of minutes of holding cold wet paper towels to my head, I knew what was coming and not to fight it.

I sat down and passed out.  Waking a couple of minutes later I knew that I’d just had another seizure.  The first since November, the second since 2008.

I staggered back to my desk and sat for about 45 minutes while I regained enough strength to take a cab home, where I slept the day and night away.

Today I’m back to my lovely chipper self.  Just a slight hiccup in a life of hiccups…

Cycle

I did it.  I bought a new bike, and hopefully will end the frustration related to what should be a simple mode of transportation.

Last year I bought a used bike from a friend.  We discussed what I wanted, and worked out a price of $250-300.  When he pieced it together, he handed it over asking for $360.  Due to his financial issues at the time, I paid without complaint.  $60 is nothing for me, but significant for him.

I then spent about $100 getting it to the state that it should have been purchased in.

Then I spent another $100 for random bits and pieces necessary (helmet, lights, etc).

Since then I’ve had the brake cable fray, the chain was too big and damaged the cassette requiring both be replaced.  With the spring check-up, this was around $125.

The bold holding the seat to the seat post sheared one day.  That cost around $40 for a new post and bracket, and also a lot of fear when the seat wiggled between my thighs and fell off on a bumpy road.  Those few seat-less seconds were terrifying, worried about what body parts it would damage.

In 7 months of riding, I’ve also popped 5 inner tubes.  Not a lot of cost, but it always happened when I had something planned that had to be cancelled to deal with the f’ing bike.

All in, with a few other minor issues, I estimate that it’s cost me around $850 for 7 months of inner-city biking.

On Saturday, I bought a brand new bike from a reputable shop.  With taxes it came to $580.  It has a 5-year warranty on the frame, 2-year warranty on parts, 2 years of tune-ups, and the shop is around the corner from my house.  It rides a lot better than the old one, and gives me much more confidence in it’s reliability.  I ride around 150km per week, over 6 days.  I'm pretty busy, and don't have time for the related failures of an old piece of s**t.

I big chunk of change to blow, but I’m looking at it as an investment.

Strike Fail

For the last month or so, there has been a strike by the Elevator Repair Contractors (or whatever they’re calling themselves).

At first the strike annoyed me.  I haven’t been able to discern what they’re actually striking for, and they’re picketing in front of my office.  They are blocking traffic, both pedestrian and auto, and causing issues with the shipping aspects of my job.

In general, a pain in the ass.

It’s been at least a month, and I’ve just realized 2 things:

1.       The elevators are working perfectly.

2.       In most high-rises, the elevator cars are double-decker.  To get to my odd-numbered floor, I have to go down to the concourse to get a car that will stop at my floor.  The ground floor car will NOT get me to my office.  Since the strike started the building has removed this feature.  The ground floor car will now stop at all floors, not just the even-numbered ones.  This means that I don’t have to go downstairs to go upstairs.  I like this.

So guys – Keep up the strike!

Although I have to say, the danger of a strike is that the populace appreciates your not working.  So yeah, ummm, good luck.

Cycle VS Car

What is going on with drivers this Spring?  As a cyclist, I’m getting afraid.

On Sunday I nearly got hit by 2 cars between Yonge and Rees Streets!

The first, as I approached Yonge on the right side of traffic:  I’m just entering the intersection as I am supposed to.  Rolling past cars, I keep an eye on who does and doesn’t have their indicator on.  I’m not about to cut off a car, he gets a dent and I get broken.

So of course, the car beside me cuts right with no indicator on!  He hammered on the gas and I just managed to turn away and bump the side of the car.  He just kept driving like nothing was wrong.

2 blocks later I turned off Queens Quay.  A car pulled out of a parking lot and I watched him not look left (towards me).  Then he slowed right down, so I went to pass. Suddenly he accelerated and moved right.  Right into me.

WTF?????

Then this morning, I was turning left onto Yonge from Shuter.  The car ahead of me was stopped at the green light, no indicators, no sign of anything.  Just not moving.  So I cautiously passed on the left, assuming that this car would drive straight through the intersection into the Eaton Centre parking lot.  Of course, she turned left, barely missing me.  She hadn’t indicated and hadn’t even looked before moving.

I used to feel stupid wearing a helmet, but these days I’m quite grateful.

OverTransCompensationPhobia

One of the guys that works in my office is in his early twenties, and a “heels-to-jesus” campy gay boy.  My only issue with that is that he’s totally in the closet.

So imagine my surprise today when someone mentioned seeing a transgendered girl in the coffee line, and he developed this look of absolute disgust.

If he’d actually said anything, I would have called him on it immediately.  However, facial expressions are hard to judge, especially when HR might get brought into the picture…

Little twit deserves two slaps.  One for being a closeted adult (living on his own, paying his way) and another for transphobia.  Or overcompensation.