I'm sitting here in the school, waiting on one of about a million Windows updates to install on a computer I just reformatted and reinstalled. Ah, just like being at Sprint again.
So I thought I would use some of my wait time to write, as it's been too long!
Yesterday I went for a bike ride. Sort of. I've known for a while that I've been riding on borrowed time and it seems that yesterday it was time to pay up. What do I mean? Well, my bike here (the GT that I brought from the States) is 11 years old. No problem there. I mean, I've kept it well-maintained. Mostly. Unfortunately, the tires on it are also 11 years old. I knew I would need to replace them soon and have been planning to get new tires when I'm in the States in December.
Anyway, back to the bike ride... Yesterday was gorgeous and I decided to ride up El Volcan, at least to where the pavement ends. I even put my camera in my jersey pocket, planning to take a few pics. Well, I did one lap on the boulevard and on my second lap turned up toward El Volcan. So far, so good, right? I was about 3/4 mile on that road, just next to the cemetery, when I noticed that my back tire felt squishy. I got off the bike and looked, and gave the tire a bit of a squeeze. Yup, going flat. I did a cursory inspection to see if I could find the offending shard of glass that might be the culprit, but didn't spend too much time on it.
Spare tube? Nope.
Patch kit? Nope.
Tire irons? Nope.
Pump. Yeah, I had that but it does no good without the rest.
I quickly decided to turn around and try to coast as far home as possible. I would give a few cranks on the pedals, then stand and put as much weight as possible on the front, hoping to nurse the rear tire for all it was worth. Apparently it wasn't worth much! I made it back to the boulevard before realizing that I needed to get off the bike or risk ruining my rim. Then I ended up walking the rest of the way home. In my cleats. And helmet. Finally, it dawned on me that while it may not seem that strange to see someone walking their bike while wearing a helmet in the US, here, it was totally, completely dorky! So, I took the helmet off.
By the time I got back home, I had registered 5 miles on the computer. 3 1/2 riding and 1 1/2 walking. After my shower, I set about fixing the bike. The rear tire was shot. Thankfully, I had also shipped my original tires for that bike down, so I was able to change out both the tire and tube.
At least I got a decent workout.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Not to be Taken for Granted...
This post was written last night, but as you'll read, I'm just now able to post it...
I just got done sending out my newsletter and updating my Facebook status about it when we had a huge brownout. That happens a lot around here. Thankfully, I have surge suppressors and voltage regulators for most of my electronics. And, thankfully it happened AFTER hitting the ‘send’ button on my email, because a brownout also means a loss of internet. That also means that I won’t actually be making this blog post until sometime tomorrow (Tuesday).
Last Friday I got to help my friend Stephanie move into a new apartment. Her house has been broken into and robbed twice in the past six months. The last time was just a few weeks ago. Her cleaning lady happened to walk in while the robbery was in progress, so she probably kept the thieves from making off with more than they already had. But that was enough for Stephanie; it was time to move.
After I got back from Stephanie’s new house, I started looking at the things that I have here, and grew even more grateful. There are so many things that I have, which make for an easier life, that so many others don’t have. I don’t ever want to take those things for granted.
For instance, I have a washing machine. Stephanie does her laundry by hand, in a pila. That’s really tough work. While seeing Stephanie’s water dispenser, I once again became very thankful that we have our own well and I can drink the water out of any faucet anywhere on our property and not have to worry about getting sick. I’m also thankful that we have a guard 24/7. While that doesn’t guarantee that we will not be broken into, it is a bit of a deterrent.
As I look around me right now, there are lots of things that I don’t have, which I once had in the States. Yet, as I look around me right now, there are lots of things which I do have, which many Hondurans do not have. It causes me to continue to thank God for His many, many blessings in my life. It also causes me to think that it’s time to go clean out another closet or shelf!
I just got done sending out my newsletter and updating my Facebook status about it when we had a huge brownout. That happens a lot around here. Thankfully, I have surge suppressors and voltage regulators for most of my electronics. And, thankfully it happened AFTER hitting the ‘send’ button on my email, because a brownout also means a loss of internet. That also means that I won’t actually be making this blog post until sometime tomorrow (Tuesday).
Last Friday I got to help my friend Stephanie move into a new apartment. Her house has been broken into and robbed twice in the past six months. The last time was just a few weeks ago. Her cleaning lady happened to walk in while the robbery was in progress, so she probably kept the thieves from making off with more than they already had. But that was enough for Stephanie; it was time to move.
After I got back from Stephanie’s new house, I started looking at the things that I have here, and grew even more grateful. There are so many things that I have, which make for an easier life, that so many others don’t have. I don’t ever want to take those things for granted.
For instance, I have a washing machine. Stephanie does her laundry by hand, in a pila. That’s really tough work. While seeing Stephanie’s water dispenser, I once again became very thankful that we have our own well and I can drink the water out of any faucet anywhere on our property and not have to worry about getting sick. I’m also thankful that we have a guard 24/7. While that doesn’t guarantee that we will not be broken into, it is a bit of a deterrent.
As I look around me right now, there are lots of things that I don’t have, which I once had in the States. Yet, as I look around me right now, there are lots of things which I do have, which many Hondurans do not have. It causes me to continue to thank God for His many, many blessings in my life. It also causes me to think that it’s time to go clean out another closet or shelf!
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