My first fondant cake has made its debut! But, the remnants of powdered sugar make it look dusty. I'm still mastering the technique!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Upcoming Election
Normally, I am a pretty apathetic voter. I tend to follow party lines and don't really get all that fired up because once I vote, someone else is left to do the fighting in whatever office they are elected to. I also try to vote absentee whenever I can so that I don't have to stand in line anywhere. Some people say that my vote doesn't count unless the election is close, and I say, that's exactly the point. If my guy is going to lose by so much that my vote wouldn't make a difference, then he or she was not the right person, or didn't run a decent campaign.
Anyway, all of this is to say that this year, amidst all the hot topics on everyone's political radar, the only thing that really matters to me this November is the person who will build proper sidewalks in Charlottesville. That's right. I just want sidewalks. Is that too much to ask?
Why sidewalks? Well, this morning as I was out for my daily run, I was headed down a path against traffic, the direction that runners are supposed to go. Because less than 30% of Charlottesville has sidewalks and there is constant construction, this particular road was barely wide enough for me and vehicular traffic. About 40 yards away, I happened to notice a biker headed in my direction. I planned to step into the road to pass her but I had to wait for a car to pass in the mean time. This created a game of "chicken," if you will, but we were still about 20 yards apart. The girl on the bike moved over as close as she could to a fence bordering the road. As we approached one another I stepped into the road but she got too close to the fence, plowing into it and bouncing off into the road. It was hilarious (Jim, you know how I can't help myself when people fall). I stopped to make sure she was okay, which she was, but when I resumed my run, I couldn't help but laugh. I wonder how many other fences she took out on the way to class. This is a college town. There are lots of pedestrians and lots of cars so if you want to ride your bike to class, you better know what you're doing. Clearly this girl did not. She and her huffy bit it hard.
Perhaps if there was a sidewalk and a bike lane around town, this kind of thing could be avoided. It is very difficult as a runner to find a path that is not congested with slow walkers, bikes and buses around this town. And how are the poor novice bikers supposed to get enough experience to improve their ride if they don't have a safe place to practice. She's lucky there was a fence on her side and not just an open ditch because that is another thing UVA likes to build around town. Ditches.
Thus, this year, the issue at stake is sidewalks. Let's take a stand and build something people can actually use in this town. In the mean time, if you see me running, get out of the way or you're likely to hurt yourself.
Anyway, all of this is to say that this year, amidst all the hot topics on everyone's political radar, the only thing that really matters to me this November is the person who will build proper sidewalks in Charlottesville. That's right. I just want sidewalks. Is that too much to ask?
Why sidewalks? Well, this morning as I was out for my daily run, I was headed down a path against traffic, the direction that runners are supposed to go. Because less than 30% of Charlottesville has sidewalks and there is constant construction, this particular road was barely wide enough for me and vehicular traffic. About 40 yards away, I happened to notice a biker headed in my direction. I planned to step into the road to pass her but I had to wait for a car to pass in the mean time. This created a game of "chicken," if you will, but we were still about 20 yards apart. The girl on the bike moved over as close as she could to a fence bordering the road. As we approached one another I stepped into the road but she got too close to the fence, plowing into it and bouncing off into the road. It was hilarious (Jim, you know how I can't help myself when people fall). I stopped to make sure she was okay, which she was, but when I resumed my run, I couldn't help but laugh. I wonder how many other fences she took out on the way to class. This is a college town. There are lots of pedestrians and lots of cars so if you want to ride your bike to class, you better know what you're doing. Clearly this girl did not. She and her huffy bit it hard.
Perhaps if there was a sidewalk and a bike lane around town, this kind of thing could be avoided. It is very difficult as a runner to find a path that is not congested with slow walkers, bikes and buses around this town. And how are the poor novice bikers supposed to get enough experience to improve their ride if they don't have a safe place to practice. She's lucky there was a fence on her side and not just an open ditch because that is another thing UVA likes to build around town. Ditches.
Thus, this year, the issue at stake is sidewalks. Let's take a stand and build something people can actually use in this town. In the mean time, if you see me running, get out of the way or you're likely to hurt yourself.
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