T.G.I.Th.

An earlier version of TGIF.... is it really Thursday already? I'm tired this week, Tour de France time, so getting as much as I can before I leave in the morning, and try to watch the rest at night, hopefully not falling asleep before the final sprint.
Still remember seeing the Tour de France in person when I was in Barcelona. Lucky duck.
I am a little fazed to realize recently that it has been 10 years since my big Europe trip. It had been so life changing for me. But how has 10 years passed?

Blackberries

I almost missed my bus this morning because I stopped to pick a few blackberries near where I park.
I hadn't noticed them before, but the previous morning I saw someone at the bushes and it dawned on me... and sure enough, when I stopped there on my way home, I had a nice little feast. This is on relatively busy little street, so I was surprised that they weren't picked over more.
It brought memories of picking blackberries at mom's place... they were so plentiful, and I had to go out in jeans and long sleeves, with gardening gloves and clippers, to cut them back, and get to the best berries just a stretch too far away. I hope I don't get silly enough to lean too far with these blackberry bushes on my commute.
It's a sign of how I am still trying to get my head above water that I didn't notice them before this week... I think blackberry season has been going for awhile now?
A good sign to slow down and take a look around me.
Happy to be downtown early, but on the sleepy side. More coffee soon, then looking forward to a good day. Love the environment here... very upbeat and free of drama. It's not so much that it feeds my soul, but it doesn't suck the life out of me. And a positive environment is something I can feed off of.
Interestingly, I'm enjoying not having to think about work after I leave work for the day. It's not the kind of work I've had before, and I am appreciating this aspect of it.
This is all post training, of course, and I am still learning.
In the lunchroom at work, and a lady behind me is pregnant and talking about her fear of delivery... yikes. TMI, but she's talking to a friend, so that's ok. The friend is reassuring her with tales of her own delivery. Gack. So totally not my world or experience. And it's thrown my train of thought. LOL.
Feels good to have my fingers on the keyboard.

Morning reflections

Goodness, how I have missed the habit of blogging. As in writing, not just posting book reviews (!). Though I no longer get frustrated or doubt myself if I am not blogging... it's just something that comes in waves in my life, something I can always come back to.
There are workstations in the lunchroom where I work. While I don't have time or the inclination to be on them during breaks, they are sitting idle first thing in the morning, and when I'm early, why not?
I leave home at 6:30 when I have an 8:00am shift, so get here around 7:20-7:30. I'm not one to relax coming in later, so this is like a bit of me time before I head to my desk. I'm usually there 20 minutes before my shift starts - to settle in and log in, to be ready to take my first call on the dot of 8:00.
Loving call centre work more than I might have imagined, and I kind of stumbled into it, and that realization. I'm good at it, and I can leave it behind when I go home.
More on that another time...
Deep into the Tour de France at the moment, watching until 6:20, noting the km left when I stop (today at 120k to go), then I pick it up at the same spot when I get home. I'm tired, but not as tired as those guys. Great race this year, interesting stuff.
OK, that's it for now.

Review: The Secret Cyclist

The Secret Cyclist: Real Life as a Rider in the Professional Peloton by The Secret Cyclist
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Secrets without a lot of drama
A great listen, and easy to digest over a day or two of the TDF. Lots of recent relevant observations, including happenings in the 2018 Tour de France. Having read several books about professional cycling, and having followed the ups and downs of doping and scandals, not much would surprise me, and nothing here did. Instead, I got a refreshingly positive inside look at the life of a professional cyclist, one who has stayed grounded and clean over the years. But it's not bland. Our secret cyclist has strong opinions and shares them with conviction. Insights on other riders relate mainly to the stories behind and around crashes and controversies, but are respectful of others privacy. It's not a tell-all, it's a tell-some. Good choice of narrator, it sounded like it was the rider himself.

View all my reviews