Today's Forecast: Hot with a 10% chance of being able to sit down for five minutes.

I had to work today. This would annoy me to no end if I did not get in a nice seven mile bike ride. Sadly, on the way to work, I was bitch-slapped by a sycamore tree. This did not make me happy. I swear it stuck a branch out just as I was riding by.

My friend, B Dalton Book Idiot, was waiting in front of the Chargrill this morning. He was leaning back on the bench, with his hands down the front of his pants. He was moving his mouth like he was chewing. That takes creepy to a whole new level.

I had to go into to work to rearrange files. Oh joy. It was another scorcher today, so I was a sweaty mess by the time I got to the office. (Mental note to self: Next time I ride to work take a towel and comb.) Four and a half hours of manual labor later, I was still a sweaty mess. Just in time for my ride home, the mercury hit 95. And I'm still gross. An hour after I got home I was en route to L's new house to help her paint. Thankfully the Player's Retreat was gracious enough to serve us beer and a veggie burger for dinner. After dinner we went back for coat two in the living room. My day finished twelve hours after it started. I am exhausted. Completely and totally exhausted. Today was a pretty good day.

Today is my mom's 62nd birthday. The big news in their house? They bought a Wii. They also have an appointment with Social Security. Parents. What are ya gonna do?

And another thing...

B Dalton, Bookseller stopped the bus on my way to the airport on Wednesday. He just wanted a schedule. He gets on and starts looking for the schedule of some bus, an express. Thanks, pal. Hold up the local, instead of waiting for the express. Or calling.

It took him, I kid you not, five minutes. He then says, "I can't find it." A guy two seats back gets up, picks up the schedule that he's looking for and hands it to him.

How ironic that the guy who sells books...can't read!

Bikes, books and buses.

I had to go into to work today. It would have been a total bummer if I didn't get in a nice bike ride. There's a TTA bus, the 101 to be exact, that goes from downtown to the Transfer Center, but nothing that goes to my office. So I rode my bike. Using the bike rack was easier than I thought. What I was unprepared for was sitting in the front of the bus moving at highway speeds watching my bike bob around like a buoy at sea. I know the bike rack is firmly bolted to the front of the bus, but it was quite wobbly. I rode up the hill from the depot to Davis, and a mighty little hill it was. Sam the Bus Driver even commented that he was impressed I made it up the hill. Unfortunately, the rest of the way to work was also uphill. With a misty, windy rain in my face. It was still a nice ride. And it meant going home was down hill. Even on a Saturday the folks driving on Miami Blvd were assholes. That makes me sad. It rained fairly hard while I was working, which meant my seat was SOAKED by the time I left. That was very unpleasant. Hopefully my seat will dry out at some point in this lifetime.

Sam was driving. I like Sam. Sam is super chatty. Sam always knows someone who can help you out and he'll be happy to talk to them for you. Cross Eyed Mary was unhappy with her job and somehow Sam knew the president of Duke and was going to talk to him for her. Today, Sam was going talk to another bus driver for me, to have him drive off his route to drop me off at my office on Saturdays. I told him I liked riding my bike.

On Hillsborough Street, near the Wilmont, a man was waiting for the bus. As the bus stopped, Sam says, "Oh Lord, are you kidding?" I wasn't paying attention until now. He opens the doors and asks the guy if he's moving. Homeboy gets on the bus with two double bagged paper bags, a liquor box, and a big black garbage bag. They were all full of books. A plastic garbage bag full of books? Doesn't that defy all laws of common sense, physics and gravity? It took this dude 5 full minutes to get his crap on the bus.