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So I was looking at my calender and I thought, 'Wow! I haven't done a journal in a while! Better put one up today!' And as it just so happens, the perfect material showed itself at school this morning.
(To the person who has been nagging me for several months now and is, I KNOW, reading this hoping to see something specific- nope. blaugh Not yet. It's just a really, really boring topic, even if the potential subject is fantastic and rhymy.)

Aside over, sorry to bore anyone out there but it's...ANOTHER BIKE JOURNAL.
What can I say, I'm a devoted cyclist.

This morning, I had a singular experience. I was locking my bike up when this woman comes up and procedes to lecture me on taking up the entire lane when I ride in. (Poor lady had no clue that my earmuffs were actually headphones and I was listening to the soundtrack of Wicked while she blabbered). Like the polite little child I am (most of the time) I smiled and nodded and she went away- allelujah. But it occured to me later that there were things I should have said, to make my case. So here they are:
1. I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE. Lady, cyclist though you profess to be, you cannot imagine the trials of navigating a school parking lot on a bike. If I don't take up the entire lane, I am relegated to the side while car after car whizzes by. Fact is, my fellow students have about zero road courtesy, and they are not likely to stop in their last-minute paniced race not to be late just so that puny two-wheeled me can cross and make it to my first period on time.
2. THIS IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. While I appreciate the honesty of your complaint, quite frankly, it ain't your beeswax. I will continue to ride the way I always have whether or not you vent at me. And quite frankly, it was a waste of your time and rather stupid. If everyone discussed their problems with everyone who annoyed them, we'd have a lot of PO'd people walking around and I'd have no time to sleep.
3. I CONSIDER IT RUDE. Sure, like I said before, it's honest and I can appreciate that. But you don't know how far I ride to get to school or why I do what I do, and it's pretty clear that you didn't even think about it or you wouldn't have confronted me about it. Plus, though I had a little leeway this morning, there are so many days when I run on a tight schedule that it was COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE. Waylaying a student before class is the province of teachers, the ones who can write passes. And walking up to a stranger and telling her what to do is just plain creepy.

(Oh, how I love venting to my Gaia journal.)

((In other news, props to Blair for being a fantastic writer, thanks to Jacob for the cow, and just in case anyone out there didn't know: Van Gogh cut off his ear to pay a prostitute. This is my story and I'm sticking to it.))