Cycling Bliss

One of the great things about working is that I finally have time to take up the hobbies/interests/fetishes that I've always wanted to do as a student. For example, I wanted to go sculling, scuba diving, kite surfing, and real rock climbing in college. What I actually did was splash around in the tub, watch people fly kites, and climb knobby walls. Maybe I was just lazy, but actually, it was probably because I had no money.

So, now that I'm earning income and don't pay any rent, I can spend, SPEND SPEND!!! To prove my point, I just bought a new bike (see previous post).

However, this is not just ANY bike. It's a cool one. I can remember my early days on a bike. I was small, slow, and it wasn't a lot of fun. I think I rode it twice and for the rest of its dumpy life it sat outside, rusting. Suffice it to say, I didn't have much of an interest in bikes after that, but my Fuji is FAST (like all unbelievably awesome things in life; e.g., race cars, jet planes, a terrible date...).

It's awesomeness isn't only that it's light and quick, but it also gets me to school! In fact, there is a trail that takes me right to med school. I tested it today and it takes about 30 min, the parking is free, I don't have to pay for the metro, I'm not polluting the environment, AND I get exercise (goodness knows I'm not going to get any otherwise)! The bicycle is an amazing machine. Simple, perhaps, but some of the best things in life are...simple.

(On a related note, I almost got run over by a car when I lightly bumped some lady's bag and swerved into the road on my way home. The perils of green transportation! Never again will I touch a Gucci bag. Those things are killer. Literally).

Bliss on Mile Marker 6

There are few things in life that bring me unadulterated joy. Such things include music and running. And maybe alcohol. And warm chocolate chip cookies (post on that later). Ok, so maybe more than a few things make me happy, but a good tune and a pair of sneakers is a fail-safe combination.

In any case, I was listening to "Love Turns 40"* by Vienna Teng while jogging on an idyllic Sunday morning. Teng, a Stanford software engineer-cum-musician, gave up a lucrative career in Silicon Valley to write and sing a few songs. In short, every Asian parent's nightmare. But thank goodness she did it, because she's damn talented. From the opening lines of "LT40", Vienna's soft, passion-barely-contained crooning touches something delicate and visceral about relationships; in this case, a marriage-on-the-rocks. I don't typically pay close attention to a song's lyrics, but Vienna has an uncanny ability to perfectly match poetry with ethereal piano melodies. Here's a sampling:

"She's holding a truth that she'll never reveal
She's holding a truth that she'll never reveal
Cause truth this time is an ugly child
And mother and daughter may reconcile
But their faces will never heal

Don't go, she says, but he's sleeping
She says it to herself
Don't go, she sees herself rising
Packing her suitcase with all of her shoes
But something keeps you faithful
When all else in you turns and runs
Love turns 40"

There's always the perpetual sense that at any minute, she's going to break out and belt out a good one, but her voice is always restrained, controlled, deliberate. It's like being on the verge of a waterfall--not quite going over, but peering dangerously over the edge. This is bliss, my friends, especially when combined with 6 miles of pure pavement.

It's times like these that make me infinitely grateful to be alive and kicking.

*feel free to ignore the visuals. I have no idea what the anime has to do with the song.