Shed Life

Figuring out my new life here in Tucson has been tough. I don’t think its overly cocky to say that I’m doing a pretty good job of getting by, and being patient, and making the best of things, but despite that it's still tough. There are many things about these early days that are interrelating and obviously affect the other aspects of my life so I’m not sure which to put first. But basically this whole episode is going to be one of complaining, whining, or general expression of looking forward to better things. 

Most generally, its tough not knowing people, or not being near those you do. I’m just under an hour bike ride from the MVSers, especially if I don't want to show up sweaty and gross. So hanging out with them has proven to be a weekly event reserved for the weekends. Unless of course they’re in Mexico at the beach. Then I just get jealous. To add to the jealousy... My more regular readers will remember Derek my mountain biking friend, he’s a great guy. Expect that he too is in Mexico enjoying the beach with some friends.

But hey! I’m good at entertaining myself. I went mountain biking on Saturday (more on that further down), cruised around downtown and played darts with some random dude at a bar on Friday and went to church on Sunday. So I would be misleading my dear reader if I were to imply that social connections were my only concern. 

Its also tough when what's supposed to be a balmy sunny paradise, is actually cold windy and wet! Well... at least its colder, windyer, and wetter than I thought it would be. But its not like I'm unprepared. I've got enough clothing, bedding, etc. but it can’t be denied that this cooler weather has a way of encouraging indoor activities; activities that make it harder to go meet new people, that make it harder to visit those I do, or even just entertain myself with the grand outdoor adventuring I normally go in search of.
Of course, it really should be said that the weather isn't all that bad. The majority of my time it has been fine and pleasant. My particular current disdain for it stems from the bitter and strong winds that led me to take the bus home from church on Sunday and stay cooped up in my hovel watching a poor quality pirated version of The Godfather, and some West Wing.

Then there's the dogs! I used to like dogs. Along two sides of this property are dogs that get very close to driving me berserk. Their vehement and continuous! barking means that I generally avoid being seen outside, even with nice weather, to clip my nails, or change my tires, or read my book. And it's not just my neighbor dogs. I've gone jogging a time or two. The whole way down the street my movement can be audibly tracked from the resounding aggression of these beasts who are seemingly bent on tearing my apart.

And so, I often find myself working on figuring out how to make this stupid 8x8 box of a home of mine as livable as possible. Since the acquisition of my rice cooker and electric skillet, my food prep capabilities have dramatically improved.

BACON!

However, despite such wonderful conveniences I am still nearly constantly left pining for such simple things as counter space. Or a chopping knife (I have been checking goodwill regularly btw). Or a real fridge! Mine is so small I can only fit the bare essentials in it. Milk, cheese, bacon, salad dressing, maybe a few vegetables, maybe some spaghetti sauce, or an open can of beans.

ANYWAAAAY... I think I'm done being childish, churlish and cantankerous for now. 

In other news I have restarted the housing hunt. Just this morning I visited one place that seems pretty great, except for the price tag. rent is $410 (utilities included). That compared to my current $150 would take some getting used to. There is another place a bit further away for a much more manageable $260, but it would be sharing an apartment with a young couple and I can imagine that getting kinda weird. We shall see. I hope to meet them soon.


More excitingly, the mountain bike ride on Saturday. It was super gnarly. This is same loop that I did with Derek the week previous, but this time I took a left instead of a right and that kept me on the trail and off the road a bit longer. It was a harrowing descent full of large drop offs and sharp corners. These pictures are two view of the same scene hopefully demonstrating the 90 degree nature of this corner. In a couple cases I had to pop up on the front wheel and swing the back around just to take the corner. In other cases I just jumped off to avoid tumbling into a sharp rocks and even sharper thorns.

Brakes, Housing, Work and Biking!

I bled my brakes early this past week. It was a fun time. Getting bubbles out of brake fluid sucks. Otherwise though its great and makes for awesome braking power! unless of course... you contaminate the pads. In which all the sqeezing in the world doesn't do much. After spending much of the week lamenting the cost in both time and energy required of these marvelous pieces of cycling engineering and getting myself mentally prepared to maybe spend even more! I have come to find that my brakes seem to starting to work again... its really weird. But hey, I'm happy!!

In housing news, I might be moving out of the shed here in a bit. I found a guy on craigslist who needs help with his rent (even though its a one bedroom house) so I'll be taking the living room and we'll set up curtains or something to make it a regular ol' room! The guy seems like a cool dude and it'll be nice to have a kitchen right there with real sized burners and a full sized fridge and counter space and silverware utensils and pots and pans! and a bathroom!  Anyway, I think it'll be well worth the ~$80 bump in rent.

Work... I probably actually should say too much, especially not out here in the interwebs. I mostly just want to complain about slow progress and the difficulties of starting a new program. There's a lot that needs done although too often I've found myself with nothing to do!

Most interestingly though! I finally went mountain biking! My newest biking buddy Derek and I went out to the Tucson Mountain park and did some good old fashioned exploring. Although it took more time than it should've, we eventually realized that hiking our bikes straight up the side of a steep slope with loose gravel and cacti attacking us was a sign that we were not on the right course any more. Once we corrected our ways we tore off! Although soon the thrill of the ride proved too much as Derek ended up trying to eat the handlebars. Which, as it turns out, is a bad idea. Three stitches on the lip will help us keep that in mind. But, between a busted a lip and some bruises on his part and a flat tire on mine I think we can call that first short foray into desert mountain a relative success. especially when compared to not biking at all!

Once again, I find myself sadly apologizing for the lack of pictures. I guess this edition is one of the boring ones. I'll do better next time.

The Hobbit Hole

Well I’ve found a place! Its cozy and rent is good. Well, rent is good relative to my other options. For what I’m getting its just ok. 

I’m living in a shed. Its a 10’ by 10’ (roughly) room in the back ‘yard’ of Sergio, my coworker’s, place. I say yard with ‘ ‘ around it because its not a nice green grassy space that I can lay a blanket out on and read. In fact there hardly are any such spaces out here. 

But getting back to the topic at hand, my little hobbit hole really isn't bad. I've got a pretty cool mini fridge, in fact its a Google fridge. I also have my tiny little camp stove that I use for cooking oatmeal or pasta, or whatever else I might want to cook next!  Sergio is also great with leaving the door open and letting me in to use the bathroom or shower when ever I need.

In addition to the procedural (although sometimes interesting) details of life, the more important and weighty issue of moving across the country has been finding people and making connections. In this realm the MVSers have been a real blessing. Getting to spend Sunday afternoon learning how to play hearts, and then teaching them how to play Jungle Speed was a blast. Then watching the Superbowl and getting really worked up about putting together a puzzle really did wonders for my mood.

In addition to doing some great social activities this weekend I also got a chance to skype with my amazing sister who is learning difficult and poignant truths about the plight of the Palestinian peoples and about the beautiful humanity that still manages to push through it all like the desert plants that show resiliency in the times of glaring sun and high temperatures but yet burst forth in life with the rejuvenating rains.

Hearing from Nicole is always great, but I must say that being so thoroughly immersed in the historic and current suffering of the region must be heart breaking and at times overwhelming. Hearing about it second hand is hard enough. Hearing about it from those involved (let alone actually being involved) in the conflict or experiencing repercussions of it is hard to imagine at this point. But the CrossCultural  seems to be a good way to go through it all so I'm pretty sure she can handle it!

The Tucsons

And so it was with these weighty topics in mind that I embarked on a lovely of bike ride through the Tucson Mountains. It was Saturday afternoon and the weather was just oh so pleasant. So, in all the splendor of work clothes (I had been hoping to put interrupter brakes on my new road bike) I took off on a ~30 mile adventure that wound up some gentle but impressive slopes leading to some remarkable descents and views!

In other news, work should prove interesting this week. Especially in relation to last weeks overwhelming feeling of lack of progress. This week we plan to present to highschool students about our program and maybe even go as far as to recruit some interest. Furthermore, our order of bike tools is scheduled to arrive which will be much like Christmas. Only better because it wont be as cold. My work, though, is focused much more on curriculum. One of major projects for the week is to get demonstration bike parts; gathering various types of brakes, a couple of hubs, headsets, etc. It’ll be fun, and hopefully I can keep myself on track and not be distracted by the other bike repair projects going on all around the shop!

This is a bike path in the shape of a snake. Its a lot of fun to ride through it nohands.

More of the Tucsons.