Yo mk!

Bicycles and photography are two of my most favourite things in life ever, which is why I’m sad I’m going to be missing out on this Toronto Cyclists Union event, 365 Days of Cycling.

I’m an almost all-season rider, and the exhibit looks at how cycling changes throughout the year. If you’re a union member, you get in for free, otherwise it’s five bones.

This was supposed to be the Year of Getting Things Done.

Yes, it’s still early into 2012, but a couple weeks ago, something happened that has derailed me slightly. It’s taking a bit of getting used to, and I’ll have to readjust goals, finances, switch up travel plans, etc. Life requires a certain amount of flexibility, especially since everything moves so quickly and changes so suddenly, but it can be difficult because we are also creatures of habit.

Upon the advice of my friend Sheila, I’m reading David Allen’s “Getting Things Done.” It’s a pretty standard paperback, but Sheila swears it changed her life and the way she thought of productivity, so I figured why not give it a go?

I’m only a few pages in and already there are golden tidbits and quotes. This one by writer Eric Hoffer struck me in particular:

“We can never really be prepared for that which is wholly new. We have to adjust ourselves and every radical adjustment in self-esteem: we undergo a test, we have to prove ourselves. It needs subordinate self-confidence to face drastic change without inner trembling.”

Fine words to ponder.

Cute coffee

I’ve had money on my mind and my mind on money the last few months.

It’s not only because I’ve moved out on my own, but I’ve been obsessed with reading finance blogs. It’s a whole other world I know very little about, even though I’ve always loved piggy banks and going to tellers.

Anyway, I don’t spend much money on things anymore except for the occasional beverage with friends and maybe a movie or a show. The one place I do splurge is on groceries, and while it’s a necessity to an extent, I’d like to be more savvy with my monthly grocery bill, which is why I was excited to find out that Foodland Ontario has an availability guide for its produce according to the seasons. This is fabulous news, as I can get food that’s in season, thus optimizing freshness and cost.

Sadly, from January through to May, I’ll be stuck with a smaller selection of fruits and veggies. I guess when in doubt, I can always be trusted to make some kind of stew or vegetarian chili.

When do two wrongs ever make a right?

Normally I don’t engage in Facebook wars or flaming but the other day I shared a biking story that was upsetting. A woman who was biking in the city failed to stop at a streetcar stop when it was loading passengers. It’s illegal to do so in Toronto, and I’m certainly not excusing the behaviour, but cyclists have been known to blow past streetcars, weaving in between passengers, present company included. It’s not a behaviour I engage in anymore, but it’s like jaywalking. It’s more convenient for you to do sometimes.

In what Denise Eng describes as a “split second against my better judgment,” Eng proceeded on her bike through the commuters. What happened next is appalling. A passenger turned around and body checked her. Luckily, she didn’t go flying and wasn’t hurt. 

She was catching the streetcar as well, and managed to park her bike and get on and asked the streetcar operator to report an assault. She asked that the perpetrator step off the streetcar with her and wait while she called the police. There was a collective groan and after she was forced to admit she wasn’t hurt, people started heckling her. She got off the streetcar and only one other passenger got off in protest.

When I posted this story, one person’s comments made my blood boil. They were along the lines of “serves her right” and “lesson learned.” What was so upsetting was this idea of karma and that she deserved to have this assault. It holds as much weight as the “she was dressing like a slut, so she was asking for it” argument.

This commenter said he sided with the passengers and she should not have gotten on the streetcar to demand justice, noting that her “reaction, given her flagrant violation of law and safety,” was ridiculous.

The fact is an act of violence was committed. When is that ever justified? Though her initial act was clearly in the wrong, I seriously doubt that her actions warranted an assault. Yes, she rode through a stopped streetcar area when she wasn’t supposed to, but I hardly think being bodychecked is the appropriate response. What’s incredibly upsetting is that most of the TTC passengers did not so much as bat an eye when this happened. This woman, who was bodychecked but not hurt, was asking for some support and got the cold shoulder instead.

I imagine after having something like this happen, all that adrenalin coursing through her body caused her to react. I can understand that. After I got doored, my body reacted quicker than my mind could wrap around it. I had minor injuries, but what I needed was a hug, an external validation that someone cares about my well-being.

If a pedestrian walked through a stopped area, no one would assault them for doing so. There is something about cycling that brings out the vitriol in people. The relationship between cyclists and drivers is a strained one and now there’s tension brewing between pedestrians and cyclists. It’s unsettling.

I will admit, speed can be intoxicating. It is like a drug. There is a freeing element to zipping around on a bicycle. Like power, it can give people a convoluted sense of invincibility convincing them to break laws, crowning them dictators of granite. I understand the thrill, but it’s often the bad behaviour that sticks in people’s minds. Those fixie aficionados who plow through traffic and Evel Knievel cyclists are creating an image of risk-takers and irresponsible riders, which is truly unfortunate.

It sounds like Eng is a responsible rider most of the time, and she did admit it was her fault. We all make bad decisions from time-to-time. But to be assaulted and ridiculed for it? To be faced with such coldness and insults after suffering an assault is unforgivable.

Usually everyone is thinking about themselves. Eng wanted some acknowledgment that this man’s action was unacceptable, the commuters wanted to continue to work, the streetcar operator wanted to continue en route. What’s interesting is that no one was willing to bend to see the other person’s point-of-view except for one passenger. If Eng was hurt, it would be a very different story, but because she wasn’t it was dismissed as a minor inconvenience. It’s speaks volumes about the way we treat each other when an incident like this happens and no one cares. Victim-blaming at its finest.

As is often the case, this is the time of year when people make resolutions. It’s still early on, when motivation and enthusiasm run free like wild horses. Optimism and hope springs eternal, a babbling brook of dreams, goals and aspirations.

The new year is a wee bairn, energetic and blissfully ignorant. Before it hits the toddler tantrum phase or the sullen teenage years or the ornery late adulthood period, the new year is full of vigor and mischief.

If we were to look at the months in a year as we would the decades in a lifespan — yes, humans do not live to be 120 generally, but work with me here — we would notice a year goes through phases and changes just as readily as a human does in her lifetime. There will be ups and downs, the mid- and quarter-life crises, days when endless good times roll.

This fresh period is, perhaps, the most unfiltered, unadulterated time of the year. In a few weeks’ time, the gyms will probably be empty again as people give up and revert back to old habits, but until then, the momentum is strong and intentions are good.

I stopped making resolutions for that very reason, as the rate of failure is inevitable. Growing up, I celebrated two New Year’s eves, which meant I had a second chance to start over in case I fell off the chuck wagon the first time. The new year according to the Gregorian calendar falls in January, but the new year according to the lunar calendar is usually in February or late January, a good month or two later. That means right around the time I’m breaking resolutions or losing steam, I get a burst of good cheer and a reminder a fresh start is just around the corner.

This year I’ve decided to toy around with the idea of achievement through collaboration and accountability using outside encouragement and/or criticism as a measuring stick to track progress. 

There are a few things I decided I want to work on, a couple of goals I want to achieve, but there is no end-of-year deadline. Long before the champagne corks popped and Auld Lang Syne was sung, I already started thinking and planning a couple goals I want to get done.

Along with some friends, I’ve formed groups to cater to my various goals (financial, literary and general life coaching). It’s an easy way to brainstorm, bounce ideas and skillshare. Since much of female experience is learning through sharing, it’s a natural way to derive support from people I already know and trust. 

This post is really just a long and ramble-y way of saying, “Go forth and connect.” Transparency is often a good thing, so why not share what you want to do and connect with those who want to help you do what you want to do?

If all else fails, Chinese New Year’s is right around the corner.

I realized I didn’t take as many photos as I did last year. So here’s a random mish-mash of photos from last year and this year.

brain-food:

“Reversible Destiny” loft apartments in Mitaka, Japan. Designed by architect Arakawa and Madeline Gins. (via)

I wanna live in one of those!

It’s fun having projects.