today
today I woke up in a FUNK
mornings are tough for me
it is not unusual for me to wake up in a funk
it is not unusual for me to have a chip on my shoulder
it is not unusual for me to be a little thin skinned

as a father of two it is not unusual for me to be a tad sleep deprived
today was definitely one of those days

looking out the window to see the humidity so thick that it looked like the rays of light were cutting through smoke from a fire did not help my expectations of the day
my personal funk was combined with a hot funky world outside

on top of my usual disfunctionality...
Dean woke up petitioning for a movie.... perhaps the easiest thing to do at 5 Am would be to put a movie on for him... but I do not want to get in the habit of such things
after the movie discussion it became the age old debate of.... "I do not want to go to school"
Grant was going through his usual disattachment panic.... screaming out his favorite word... "MOMMY.... MOMMY.... MOMMY!"
eventually Grant's babysitter, Soledad, arrived and I was freed up to walk the dogs
by that time I was able to defuse Grant's need for Mommy who had left for work
but was still working on Dean and his distain for going to school
Soledad took Dean away with him complaining all the way
(Dean loves school when he is there... but... he loves the freedom associated with home)

the walk with the dogs was incident free
there were zero encounters with anyone on the trails
in thirty minutes time I was soaked from head to toe with humidity induced sweat
actually
after three quick steps I was soaked from head to toe
soaking wet before I was able to get from my porch to the sidewalk just 14 feet from my front door
DC summers will do that to a person

after all of that I got on my bike and pointed to work... well... Physical Terrorism appointment before work
with PT on the morning schedule I had a little time to do a little spin on the bike
the urge was great to hit dirt
being the skoff law that I am I ignored the little signs with the icon of the bicycle and the red circle and the slash
pedaled across town car free
weaving through various trails
taking the heavily overgrown paths slow as it was impossible to see around the corners
during my off peak hours I had very few encounters to speak of
a few faces I had seen before... man and beast
one set of four legged beasts ran wild through the woods with the echo of cow bells dangling from their colars
this was odd... but not so odd after seeing the owner with his reflective saftey vest and various electronic devices

during my ride I got to survey some of the recent trail repairs that I had done
as well as view the repairs that must be done
honestly.... these trails are a wasteland.... or at least a landfill
but the fallen trees at various points of the trail make things impassable
hikers have rerouted the path in a less than effective manner.... or at least not in a rideable manner
before exiting the woods I did a little more repair
tried to block off some sections of the trail where things were getting psycho wide
and
tried to create a little network of logs and rocks so that people can go over the center of the trail which has become a bog
rode over the parallel logs a few times to test out their slippage and their effectiveness
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
with a pat on my back I was back on the bike
playing through my head how long these structures will last...
will the Nature Nazis feel that these are unsuitable?
will the Nature Nazis spend more time tearing appart my efforts than I spent creating them?
ah... to be a fly on the wall?

after my trail repair I was significantly more dirty than I would have been after a trail ride alone

before PT I stopped off at work for a shower and a change of gear
having spent more time in the woods working on the trail I was late for PT
this is where the story gets good...

so I roll in through the main corodor
as I move down the hall a co-worker makes a comment...
unsure what he is saying I grunt and keep moving
durning my turn back to grunt I noticed that I am leaving a sandy trail behind me
now understanding what this person who very well could be viewed as one of my bosses is saying
I then shower and change....
then poke my head into my office
on my desk is a note.....
well... not a note... but a piece of paper and a pile of dirt
it seems that the building's custodian had to sweep up my mess
and the man I passed left this little gift and a message to try and be cleaner....
to this i flipped out... to my immediate boss.... not the guy who left the message
WHAT!
WE ALL TRACK IN DIRT!
EVERYONE TRACKS IN DIRT!
IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT ON THIS DAY I TRACKED IN MORE DIRT THAN MOST PEOPLE!
IT WAS UNINTENTIONAL!
IF THEY REALLY WANTED TO CORRECT BEHAVIOR... THEY SHOULD TALK TO THE SMOKERS!
THEY ARE INTENTIONALLY MAKING A MESS!
THEY ARE INTENTIONALLY TOSSING THEIR TRASH ON THE SIDEWALK!
CROWED IN FRONT OF OUR OFFICE
TOSSING THEIR BUTTS TO THE CURB
MAYBE HE SHOULD COLLECT CIGARETTE BUTTS AND PLACE THEM ON THE DESK OF EACH SMOKER!
MAYBE WE SHOULD TOSS THEIR BUTTS TO THE CURB!
then I stormed out the door and headed to my PT session fifteen minutes late
went to PT
experience great pain
made slight progress
then returned to work after venting
feeling better
and feeling relieved that I had not had this discussion with my BIG BOSS but just my mellow level headed immediate boss

planning on being more considerate and more clean when I come into work on the bike
knowing that it is foolish to expect special treatment because I choose to travel by bicycle rather than car
knowing that no one should come into the building making any unneccessary mess
be that mess cigarette, dirt, or sand