i got the best of the day by riding to work this morning. the sun was already up at 8:30 (whoo-hoo, summer's coming) and it hadn't clouded up yet. still seeing actual sunlight (almost) and something in the sky that might even have been non-cloud as i went in to shower, and when i came out 30 minutes later everything was as grey as a battleship and the wind was blowing trees horizontal. this winter ain't been BORING, at least.

a really cool, really great ride in and i was so pleased with myself for being all desked up by 9:30 am. then i blew the margin by working late anyway and absolutely having to detour to the grocery store on the way home. what do teenagers do with all that food? it's been some windy around here for the past few days apparently, so the post-store stretch was a bit squirrelly. i had a gallon of milk and two pounds of steak slung over one handlebar, and all the other stuff on the other one, crosswinds of about 20kph. i think 'destabilized' is the word i'm groping for. supposedly only about 5C, but i guess wind+rain+humidity in the 90's explains why i was so very glad of my balaclava.

the 5-day forecast has the same kind of thing, including winds between 40 and 60 kph for the next couple of days. good thing i'm much more used to that bridge now. tonight it's supposedly going to be a 'mere' 20kph most of the time, rising to 60 again by the morning. the whole office seems to have spent christmas collecting cold germs. it sounds like a seal enclosure at the local zoo, everyone coughing in syncopated stereo. i am not sick yet, but i promise nothing. 10 days to go.

songs: crooked piece of time, john prine; chain up the swings, michael marra.