I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
For a while I hadn’t had a rideable bike because my last one was old and needed new tires and (surprise!) I was too lazy to get new ones.
Then Captain Caffeine found a really nice bike at Goodwill for only $50. Of course, this one also needed new tires (or at least new treads) but after I bought them, the Captain put them on my bike for me and filled up the tires.
So then I had to buy a bike helmet that didn’t look like it had been through WW3. My last helmet had been with me since college, and I’d been in a couple accidents with it. I think I’m technically not supposed to use it after it’s been in an accident, but I was (surprise!) too lazy to go get another one, plus at the time I had my old unrideable bike and saw no need to get a new helmet.
So yesterday, finally, in an effort to be green and save gas, I took my new bike out to the grocery store. I was REALLY shaky on that bike. People who say you never forget how to ride a bike are LYING. I was pretty nervous riding to the store, but luckily didn’t get hit by a car and (an event even more likely) I didn’t hit anything like a phone pole or a stoplight or a person.
I picked up my groceries and packed them in my nifty Hawaiian backpack and went home. Hooray!
Then I realized my back hurt. What’s up with that? Isn’t bike riding supposed to be good for you?
And, er (TMI warning) that bike seat was super hard! Oh my gosh, my butt hurt so much. Do I need a new seat or do I just need to get used to the one I have?
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You did waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than me!