exciting day

Ok today has been somewhat exciting. It started with breakfast at the greasy spoon around the corner, which, as always was great. Did a load of laundry and as I was hanging it on the balcony to dry, I received a phone call from a place I had put a resume in. They wanted to interview me on Monday, but as I will be in Ottawa next week, they decided to fit me in today. The interview went very well. Small family run organization, does inkjet refills, nice people from what I can tell. It is in the Frontenac Mall which is about an hours walk, by my estimation... but I decided I would do something aboutt hat on the way home from the interview. I passed a rather seedy looking used sport's shop and bought a bike that was priced at 45 bucks but managed to get it for 30.
Now, I have not ridden a bike since before my back injury. That is 8 years ago now. Turns out, you never really forget. I managed it without any hassle for the first part of the trip home =) but my thighs certainly let me know Iwas using muscles I have not used in a long time after about half an hour. But still it was a major achievement.
For those who don't know, I used to be very active with my mountain bike. I rode everywhere. It was one of the things I really and truly missed after the back injury. Back home, it simply wasn't an option. The coniditon of the roads and the steepness of the hills meant I was not able to ride. The potholes were bruatl and one of them could have destroyed my back altogether. Here, there are very few hills, and the ones that are here are on easy inclines. So I had been toying with the idea for a little while. The 30 dollar price tag, however, clinched it for me. It isn;t a great bike, and several years ago I would have scoffed at getting CCM mountain bike. I was far too snobish with my GT, and later my Trek. But these days all I need it for is reseaonable transportation and moderate exercise. I will be able to ride it to school and (hopefully) work most days, into at least December and then start again in March. It will help me physically a fair bit (once I get used to riding again) But I have to tell you, in spite of the pain and the current temperature (it is 31 degrees celcius before humidex here) it felt amazing. It felt great to have the breeze in my faces as I rode toward home. The fram is a little small for me, the chain needs oil and I need a helmet, a lock and a set of hand grips, but other than that, the gears work fine, the peddles are strong and the wheels and breaks seem to be in decent shape.
I figure at 30 bucks, if I ride it to and from work (hopefully) at least three times, I will have paid for the cost of it outright =) so if it lasts at least that long everything is good =) and should it get stolen, enh what odds. If it had been one of my 1500 bikes that I used to own it would have been a huge issue, This one... it is only 30 bucks =)
On a sad note, someone whom I worked with a great deal in theatre, and the father of a good friend of mine, Dick Bheuler passed away this week. I wish I could be there for the services. But anyone out there who reads this and who knew Dick, they have asked for donations to be made to the scholarship fund in his name. You can do so by sending a check to Memorial University of Newfoundland for the Dick Buehler Award in Theatre through the Office of Alumni Affairs and Development, 20 Lambes Lane, St. John's, NL, A1C 5C7.
Hope you are holding up ok Mike, and I hope the rest of your family is as well, thinking of you