Life – Page 24 – The Dirt Field

And beforehand, we’ll go to a topless bar for little plates of Spanish food.

Posted on March 24, 2012 by lindsay

"What kind of show are you taking your mom to see this week?" "It's called 'Falun Dafa Association of Washington, D.C. presents: Shen Yun: Reviving 5,000 Years of Civilization'. It's basically dancing. Chinese exotic dancing." "Uh, that should be nice. Hope your mom enjoys that."

Things A Competitive Cyclist May Want To Consider When Traveling For Work

Posted on March 15, 2012 by lindsay

1. A hotel towel can take the place of the Pilates mat you didn't pack. Do not touch the carpeting. There is a reason hotels choose dark, loud patterns; unimaginable stains are hidden on that floor pelt of filth. 2. You can adamantly intend to do a ride on a bike in the hotel's fitness center as much as your little cyclist heart desires, but if there is no bike in that fitness center, you're still screwed. 3. Bring snacks. Normal people who are not training eat three meals a day, not eight, so conference schedules are built around that structure. If you do not bring extra food, you will be stuck waiting hours between scheduled meals and will end up wanting to eat PowerPoint slide printouts or worse, the things office people believe constitute actual food (donuts, Peeps, Doritos, etc). 4. Practice shamelessness. Normal people do not drink 100 ounces ...continue reading.

Hoping the road to greatness is paved with fun-size candy bars

Posted on March 7, 2012 by lindsay

I just made fancy hot chocolate; real dark chocolate chunks melted with caramel and sea salt, topped with whipped cream. It's good - not as delicious as the Artfully Chocolate version I'm trying to replicate - but still enjoyable. Also, I hate myself for drinking it. This is happening while I am drinking it. Sip, loathe, sip. This drink is fattening and sugary and rich and all I did for exercise today was some core work and a recovery ride. Yet all I can think about is eating more whipped cream and sticking my finger in the jar of caramel. I probably will and then regret it even more. The other day, I was filled with regret before I'd even put the first cookie in my mouth...and then I ate two and despised myself for the next four hours. I am not good at self control. That's funny to say, because ...continue reading.

With Great Horsepower Comes Great Responsibility

Posted on March 1, 2012 by lindsay

For as long as I can remember, my father has driven a BMW. Even as a little girl, I knew The Rules of riding in his car: (1) no feet on the seats, (2) no food/drink, (3) no slamming the door, (4) only use the door handle when closing the door from the outside, and (5) don't touch any buttons except the seat heater control. I credit my mother's presence for being the only reason I wasn't left on the side of the highway when I was around eight years old and threw up in the backseat on the way home from Thanksgiving dinner. It's understood that nobody drives his car except him; my mother and I joke that if he were periously wounded, he'd rather walk to the hospital than let one of us drive his car there. We laugh because it's true. Or so I thought. A few years ...continue reading.

The Things You Never See Coming

Posted on February 25, 2012 by lindsay

A few years back, I was in a car that was rear-ended by a drunk driver. It was a weeknight and the driver was a middle-aged woman who worked at a big accounting firm; I'm sure she thought she was fine to drive and that nothing would happen. But things did happen, and the night ended with her teenage son arriving to see her in handcuffs in a squad car on her way to jail. I still think about that and vow to be extra cautious about driving after having any alcohol, but in the moment, after a few glasses of wine, I generally think, "I'm fine to drive. Nothing will happen." And so far it hasn't, but that doesn't mean it won't. I deleted Facebook off my iPhone recently to cut back on time spent absorbing random details about other peoples' lives and replaced it with a news app. ...continue reading.

David and Goliaths

Posted on February 20, 2012 by lindsay

Moments after merging onto the Dulles Toll Road today, I saw two gorgeous cars screaming towards me in my rearview mirror. [caption id="attachment_2415" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="In red, that's a Ferrari 458 Italia, MSRP approximately $230k."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2417" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="In silver, that's a Ferrari California, MSRP approximately $192k."][/caption] And then there was me in my M Coupe (MSRP approximately nowhere near six figures), all "fuck yeah, bitches, let's go!" Suffice to say it was the high point of my life as a car enthusiast thus far and that the drive was worth every penny paid in tolls. As things, uh, quieted down just before the main toll plaza, I rolled alongside the silver one to smile and give a thumbs up like a huge dork, and was met with happy waves from the grinning pretty boys inside. So much of the time, life is all bills, work, chores, responsibilities, and so ...continue reading.