the new york times keeps telling me that the world is ending- i sign in and see plummeting bar graphs with terminology that i don't understand. sam tried to explain what was going on to me one night when i was drunk and i just kept nodding off. i'm educated and intelligent and i live in new york city, but i don't understand. last month i couldn't imagine being able to buy a home, and today that hasn't changed. the bank that holds my savings is wavering between two new masters, but my money is guaranteed by the government.
this ignorance is, well, ignorance, and it's dangerous i know, but it's a strain for me to think of how my life will change as a result. the times is still running asinine stories on fashion and at work we discuss cover choices for books we never liked in the first place.
life goes on. life is actually pretty good right now. the snake hadn't eaten in over six months, but once i took him out i discovered why. he wrapped around me in icy coils. the old heating pad isn't quite as toasty as it used to be. i let him leach my warmth while i cleaned out scraps of skin and old blood from his cage, and then i put him in a warm bath. by the next day he was ready to eat again, and i feel like amid all the uncertainty of the past month something was working right.
another long ride on sunday also helped with clearing the cobwebs out of my brain. it was a privilege to race around manhattan island at top speed in pouring icy rain with a thousand insane cyclists, although it was a bit of a strain to appreciate that at the time. the sense of amazement and freedom is what stuck with me, though, while the memory of being freezing cold and out of breath is already distant. i love my new hobby. i would say that cycling must make you a better person if i didn't shake my head at reckless assholes on bikes every day, but i think it has made me a better person. i'm happier, and i can see my happiness reflected in all the people i interact with. the people i bike with are good people, too. unfortunately i'm grounded again for an indeterminate period of time because my knee doesn't like the cycling as much as i do.