Aleph Null

I prefer serif.

[aleph-none]

my apartment is currently a diorama of my hobbies even more than usual: fabric and pattern pieces on the floor, sweater half knitted on a table, cookbook open to a recipe and the relevant flour bags on my countertop

[aleph-none]

also i feel like an idiot because

i made a special effort to use exclusively the front brake today except apparently i was using the wrong side, so i was exclusively using the rear brake

my rear brake is too close to the rim and rubs it constantly. unclear if it came back from the shop like this (and i was too much of a rube to notice) or if i fucked it up in my 20 min ride with a chain wrapped around the seat tube

i'm just so annoyed if the tune up caused a problem. something so obvious. i specifically went to this place because they were highly rated

[aleph-none]

having a bike and cycling in the city is reminding me how insanely stressful it is to enter a completely new world that requires new skills and norms, at great consequence. i feel like the closest parallel is driving a car. there's all the stuff about actually being able to drive in isolation, and then there's driving amongst other cars, figuring out navigation, adjusting for weather, maintenance, parking in different places, dealing with parking garages, dealing with tickets and towing, etc.

so right now, i am someone who would have previously said i was very comfortable biking, but now that i have a bike in the city, i am a complete beginner. like, dropping my key when i try to deal with the lock. taking multiple tries to get my feet on the pedals when starting from a red light. soaked in sweat and so stressed when going up and down stairs and through doors. i don't know where i'm "allowed" to hold it on the frame. i just got a tune up last week and i'm freaking out about if i messed up the brake doing something or if the shop did and i should take it back. within 30 seconds of getting my lock, i shredded a bunch of rubber off because it was brushing against my wheel. basically i'm acting like a fool at all times when i'm not actively riding it. when i'm riding it i actually feel pretty good lmao

[thememedaddy]

[aleph-none]

i thought i knew how to ride a bike but jeez there's all this stuff about only use the front brakes and lean into turns and don't cross chain

[aleph-none]

finally making progress on a puzzle i've had nearly 10 years

[aleph-none]

the light in boston has been intensely yellow and dim from smoke plumes and someone described it online as "Breaking Bad Mexico scenes" which is so evocative and accurate

[aleph-none]

omg bike people have such strong opinions

i took my newly purchased used bike to a shop for a tune-up and the first thing the guy said was "you're gonna want to switch out the white bar tape." i was taken aback as i waited for him to tell me that white bar tape had some sort of performance drawback. he continued: "it'll get dirty as soon as you ride it and won't be white anymore." i just kind of stared at him. why would i address an aesthetic problem that didn't even exist yet?

we did the logistics and then the last thing he said to me was "do yourself a favor and get a proper helmet". again, i started for a moment while i worried there might have been safety implications i was unaware of. "that kind is like an oven." 🤣 okay buddy, i think i can deal with a sweaty head if the rest of me is also sweaty.

it's so novel for me to be on the receiving end of unsolicited advice. really makes me think about how i'm perceived!

[redlipstickresurrected]

Mia Tarney (British, b. 1973, Surrey, England) - Iris Pink Charm, 2019, Paintings: Oil on Linen

[aleph-none]

i got popping boba as a froyo topping and i have NOT been able to stop thinking about how good it was. texturally exciting! requires a bit of chasing around to bite on and burst! an exciting pop of mango flavor!

s/o to the guy who was so generous with the toppings 🫡

[aleph-none]

there's one runner i guide regularly and love guiding and one that i've run with now three times but will never guide her again. i said that last time, but this time i mean it.

i seriously don't have a good time and she always creates more difficulty. for one, she uses a stretchy headband as a tether, which means my arm is constantly yanking around and i'm super close brushing against her. on our last run, she didn't want to run on sidewalks, so we ended up in the street getting honked at by cars.

today's run was really bad because she said she wanted to do 8-9 miles but was deeply unprepared for it. we texted to confirm last night and she said she didn't have a water bottle, but i thought she would borrow or buy a bottle of water before hand. NOT SO. before we could run we stopped into a convenience store. "i hope they take apple pay," she said. BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T BRING A CREDIT CARD!!! she bought water, and i carried it for her in my pack. she complained that her shirt (a camisole with a built-in bra) wasn't good for running... then within a mile she wants to stop and walk. in the past her pace has been 9-10 min so i was kind of surprised. we ended up doing walk/run the whole way. there's nothing wrong with that but it meant the run took way more time than i planned for and i never got into a rhythm. then she desperately needed a bathroom so we had to stop at a gas station. at mile 4 i could tell she was struggling so i offered her my fruit snacks while i took a gel (if we went faster, i would be home sooner). then we had to stop to BUY ANOTHER WATER.

all in all it took us almost 3 hours to run 8.3 miles. then if you factor in the transit, i spent probably 4.5 hours to get my run in and i didn't enjoy any of it.

[aleph-none]

i stopped halfway through my run today to just sit on a bench by the river for a while. it was really nice and peaceful. i need to get in more idle outside time this summer—i'm always on the move

[aleph-none]

picking out gifts for my friend like hmm should i get her a toilet mug or a bunch of rubber traffic cones? <3

googling "variety pack traffic cone" like that's a normal thing to want

[aleph-none]

LMAO in the past 24 hours i've been asked to do (fairly involved) favors for my

dad

mom

sister

grandmother

[sloppystyle]

[shamebats]

Tiktok post by @ wynunlimited.

[thatisuseful]

Damn, that's useful!

[somecutething]

Dolphins doing cartwheels with an aquarium guest.

(via Ant.Giovanni)

[luidilovins]

I'm loving this new trend of people going to zoos and participating in animal enrichment. We use to observe large exotic animals for our entertainment, but the fact is that we are now trying to make ourselves equally as entertaining for them. It's interactive, completely parpicipatory and I would argue that eventually someone's gonna come up with something new enough that it expland ethologists understanding about how some animals think, problem solve, communicate and feel and I think its fantastic.

[urbanfantasyinspiration]

Human: play?

Aquatic creature from an entirely different branch of the animal tree: play!

[urbanfantasyinspiration]