greetings royal pedestrian!

so today i went to the MU to check my mailbox, deposit a check, go to the post office, etc. those things you do when you do that sort of thing. as i emerged from the bookstore exit (where i parked my bike) i hear someone say:

"excuse me sir, but i see that you're wearing a purple shirt today. did you know that purple is the color of royalty?"

i can't hear the man's response
and there is another exchange i've now forgotten, and then,

"would you like to use your royalty to save the world with me today?"

and then i realize, he's one of those people that try to chase you down to join something, or sign up for something, or give money to something. i dislike these people very much. set up your table, put up a sign, and let me decide if i want to sign up for it on my own accord. don't badger me, chase me, try to persuade me; this only serves to make me angry and try to get away from you faster. i figure this is why they hire young people to do this job, because the rest of us know that if we see someone coming in our general direction, to quickly change course and avoid as necessary.

turns out, the guy was for greenpeace, which is a fine organization. but i don't want to sign up for anything. good thing he didn't come for me. i would have had to smile and say no thank you and walk away very quickly.

as i was riding my bike away, i noticed another greenpeace guy where i was going to be biking in moments. luckily, he turned to someone coming down the stairs of the MU before he had a chance to try to tackle me in the grass and convince me his cause was a good one. ok maybe that last part was just a fantasy. i don't even know if he was cute or not. maybe he wouldn't even know how to tackle.

as i left the MU area, i turned onto 26th street and headed toward jefferson. i passed a guy on a bike, biking with no hands and no helmet, and TEXTING while he was cycling along. this means he wasn't even looking at the road. at all. seriously?

as i was approaching the intersection, a girl pedestrian stepped off the curb, without stopping, without even looking up to check for traffic, cars or bikes or otherwise. she just blindly walked out into the intersection. i'm sure she felt like she had all the right to do so, as she was in a crosswalk. but really, didn't her mother teach her to look both ways first? have people here become SO complacent, SO righteous that they think they are each the center of the universe? that someone else will always be looking out for them? that someone else will always see them and avoid them? my goodness.

and then, there's me. as i was walking home from the gym, i became mesmerized by some people playing flag football. not that any of them were anything to look at, nor do i really care about the sport that much. the refs had REALLY loud whistles and people were running around which i think caught my eyes and ears. anyway i was walking home along the street because there is no sidewalk that connects where i work to the gym, and i guess i got lost in the moment and began to veer into the middle of the road, right as the quarterback was being chased down and was about to make some amazing pass or have his flags ripped off. just then i realized there was a car coming down the road, and that maybe i should get back on my side. self righteous, indeed.

--------------------------

on a side note, i have wicked leg envy. the gym has made this feeling in me resurface. i mean, i just envy people with nice looking, smooth, shapely legs. i may be tainted by popular culture and media and whatever, but there are some people (namely women) whose legs really attract my attention. i'm sure the people who have them know they look that good. i'm sure they shave every day and use lotion and go to the gym every day and never eat junk food (or maybe they do and their metabolism is so high that it just melts right off). anyway, i have extreme leg envy. i could say i have body envy too but i'll save that for another day.

on another gym related topic, each day i've gone to the gym (2 days in a row now) i've seen the same girl there. she's always on the treadmill, running. when she runs, it sounds like she's stomping. and she runs at a good clip. and she's always on before i start and always still on after i leave. i have a sneaking suspicion she ignores the "please only work out for 30 minutes" rule. she seems to be looking around to see if anyone else is interested in her machine while she's on it, but has never gotten off while i've been there. in fact i would venture to guess she's there every day and runs for an hour. we'll see. i'll keep tabs on her in my gym report.

i didn't bring any cds from home today, so looks like it's either tori amos or the ipod.

-----------------------
gym report:

20 minutes spin cycle (sounds like laundry to me)
3x10 @ 70lb leg curl
3x10 @ 70lb leg extensions
3x10 @ 150lb leg press
3x10 @ 65?lb squats (i used the big bar plus 2 10lb weights on the ends)
10 minutes abs /stretching

weight: 160.6

stomper: 2 days in a row