Much has happened in the last couple years. I have started several posts, only to abandon them for some reason or other. It turns out that sometimes, my need to write things down (or, more accurately, type them out) doesn't include putting those things where others can read them.
When I last updated this blog, I had quit working in a bike shop--but not made a lot of noise about it online. A few months before, a long-term house guest had left under a cloud of mutual bad feelings. In the weeks after her departure, I bought a new kayak and got it wet a couple times before using it in my annual volunteer stint for the Ironman event. I've used that boat for three Ironman events, but, sadly, not much else, as will be discussed in a bit.
A couple weeks after my last update, I took a job with a giant, soulless grocery company. I was disappointed in the pay, but it was something to do while I sought better employment (and recovered from the doldrums related to my decision to make a sudden departure from the bike business). The schedule wasn't great, but it was fairly regular (by comparison to the schedule I had when working at the giant soulless hardware and lumber retailer). The working conditions were better than many I've experienced. I got to interact with customers in a cheerful manner.
I also worked every Saturday and every Sunday unless I burned considerable "political capital" to get an unpaid day off. That got old, so about the time of the last Presidential election, I found other employment--this time with a small company that offered a combination of better pay, a more palatable work schedule, insurance... The grocery company knew I wasn't going to stay--that they couldn't offer me enough to keep me there.
However, the new gig wasn't so great in other ways. I know I have retail chops, but I'm not a great "outside sales" person. It didn't help that the product is seeing what appears to be a permanent downturn in popularity; I likened my task to selling buggy whips. I was already considering chasing a better job when I was laid off over company cash flow problems.
So, now I'm working for yet another giant, soulless company.
And I'm happier there than I've been in a long time.
The hours are far better than most retail jobs I've had (so far...). The pay is better than any job I've held in over five years, and better than several I've had prior to that. The commute is within walking distance (although I usually ride a bike, so as to give me more time to be at home for lunch).
Part of the reason I like having more time at home for lunch is that we now have a pair of Basset Hounds. I get to spend more time with them this way.
I'm still an advocate for better cycling information, although I've stepped back from a lot of Facebook groups focused on that sort of thing. I'm still concerned that the city is putting too much money and faith in majick painte as a fix for the abysmal cycling mode share (it hasn't worked to any significant degree...). I had to step back from it a bit, though, to regain some sanity in my own life.
It's interesting to note the parallels between having dogs and having small children. Note that I am not saying the two are the same, only that there are a few parallels. Either create new factors in how one goes about one's day, from how long it takes to get ready to leave for work to how one arranges commutes and meal planning and whether/how time out of town gets arranged.
Of course, a key difference is that having my dogs on a leash won't result in the sort of side-eye one would get due to having children on a leash...
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