Dooring a Cyclist is NOT COOL

It was about 10 degrees fahrenheit this morning without windchill, so already I was pretty miserable on my bike to work on a Monday morning. About 5 blocks from my house, I was slammed by a car door off my bike into the middle of a very busy street. Luckily, I wasn't going that fast, so I didn't fly too far out. Also, the cars behind me were aware of the situation and managed not to run me over as I was lying in the middle of the street. One such passerby even got out of his car to make sure I was ok.

The man who doored me got out of his car and apologized. He asked if I was ok and helped me get up. He stayed with me until I was able to walk away. That was the very least he could have done. He did say quite a few times that I shouldn't be biking so quickly, and that just pissed me off. I was wearing multiple layers with a heavy backpack containing my laptop and biking into a biting and strong wind. I couldn't have been going more than 4 MPH, and probably even slower. I was trying to get to work on a Monday morning- who would be rushing to do that?

Luckily, I seem to only be bruised and swollen around my knees and left thigh, but certainly bruised pretty badly. My legs and the elbow I rolled onto are also pretty sore. I also do have a bit of a headache. Though I didn't land on my head, it was certainly jarred up from all the falling and hit the bike. I landed on my knees first and then fell over onto the side of my left thigh, all on top of my bike. As I was parallel to his car, I noticed that the driver's door was opening, so I steered to the side to try to avoid it and tried to jump off my bike. I wasn't able to execute that fast enough, but my actions luckily prevented the door from really making me fly and having my bike land on me. He did hit me, not my bike, pretty hard with the door, though. Perhaps more luckily, I wasn't run over on the busy street. The cars weren't going that fast, so they were able to avoid me.

I felt a rush of adrenaline and was able to walk away, but now, 2 hours later, I'm starting to feel the pain in my legs and knees. I'm more affected, though, by the shock of it all. I really could have died out there today or been severely injured. I'm still shivering from it. :(

I've filed a police report and a claim with his auto insurance company. In Cambridge, there is legislation being put in place so that a person can be fined $500 for exiting his or her car on the side of traffic, and especially if the door opening causes some sort of accident, like hitting a cyclist. The police officer this morning in fact said some sort of fine is already in place, though I'm not sure the details of the fine amount nor the nature of the violation. Such dooring has already led to a tragic death in Cambridge and many accidents ranging in severity.

I've had to take a sick day to cover my not being at work, so that's one less sick day I can take for when I'm actually sick. We'll see what comes about of this police report and claim I've filed with his auto insurance company. Luckily, I don't seem to have any broken bones or other immediate and severe injuries, but who knows what sort of long-term injury I incurred (like weakened knees/ligaments) or what will become apparent later after my adrenaline wears off completely. I may need to go to a doctor for a check up just to make sure I'm ok. And my poor bike. :( I have to have her scratches fixed up as well. The handle bars came a little loose and turned 90 degrees. My lock holder broke in half and off my bike. My chain came off the gears, and the back break isn't working properly anymore.

I just hope this guy is careful from now on about opening car doors. He's lucky something worse didn't happen to me. He'll likely have to pay that fine and perhaps even a higher insurance premium. That should teach him.

Those Who Come in Last are Still Olympians

I am a huge supporter of underdogs, no matter the venue. Perhaps it's because I'm a New Yorker, and we're known to root for the underdog to make the competition more interesting. Perhaps it's because I often consider myself an underdog in most things I do; I can empathize with underdogs. They too work just as hard as the favorites, yet their efforts will never merit such high honor as a gold medal, or a medal at all. Still, they should be proud of their level of skill and how far it's been able to take them. Even those who came in last at Torino are still Olympians and have achieved much more glory than many of us, or at least I, ever will.

Others seem to share my sentiment. This blog in fact profiles the underdogs, particularly those who placed no higher than last. Underdogs do in fact have success stories, like Sarah Hughes at the Salt Lake Olympics or the Korean soccer team in the last World Cup. But underdogs aren't expected to win, and they usually don't. They don't really receive much attention or empathy from people, except from me. This entry is dedicated to those who never got their time in the spotlight or achieved their goals despite all their hard work. I'm one of you, and I salute. :)

This sounds like one of those Budweiser commercials saluting "Real Men of Genius". Make no mistake, my entry here is sincere. Still, I felt compelled to mention the Budweiser commercials since I get a kick out of them. :) After all, as an underdog, you have to be able to laugh at yourself and take failure lightly. Otherwise, it's just plain depressing. Go underdogs!

me in fours

i never really like sending chain letters, but this chain blog entry is fun. :) here goes.

four jobs i've had:
1. consultant. blah.
2. auditor. even more blah.
3. federal energy regulatory commission intern. very cool and interesting to see a how a government agency operates. i was there for the northeast blackout of 2003, and no i didn't cause it. :)
4. golf ball sales girl. i was a self-made entrepreneur at age 10. my family's backyard was adjacent to a nyc public golf course where the golfers were far from tiger woods, so we got tons of golf balls hit into our yard that were never sought after. i collected them and sold them back to golfers passing by our backyard. i even wrapped them in cellophane and ribbon. that money bought my sisters and me ice cream all summer.

four movies i can watch over and over:
1. eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
2. garden state
3. sabrina (1995)
4. shawshank redemption

four places i've lived:
1. staten island, new york. born and raised, baby, born and raised.
2. dundalk, maryland. twice. (as if living there once wasn't odd enough)
3. philadelphia, pennsylvania. yay for college and cheaper bar drinks than ny! :)
4. brighton and cambridge (not simultaneously), massachusetts. for those who know me, i say i live in boston, but i felt the need to distinguish here. apparently you only "live in boston" if your mailing address is actually in boston, even though brighton is a part of the city of boston. then there's the odd river rivalry between boston and cambridge so that people from each town try to avoid crossing the river unless it's absolutely necessary- yeah, who knew? to me, they're all bostonians. they are irrational red sox fans who think they can claim STREET parking during and after a snow storm with various bric-a-brac from their houses just because they took the time to dig their cars out and make the space "parkable". yup, they're crazy.

four tv shows i like:
1. sex and the city. i'm a girl from new york. :)
2. dawson's creek. joey and pacey 4e. ahh, gotta love high school.
3. felicity. i vicariously lived the new york college experience through felicity.
4. friends. as only a true fan can, i watched from episode 1 in 1994. i was 11.

four places i've vacationed:
1. france. just about all of it while following the tour de france in july 2005 with lawrence. i miss the strawberry tarts. :)
2. the philippines. mostly in luzon seeing family, and if you're filipino, you know that means it's not really a vacation...
3. barcelona. that crazy gaudi. maybe more people would be as relaxed and life-loving as barcelonians if there was more gaudi architecture around the world.
4. greece: mainland, islands, and, dare i include this country under my trip to greece, turkey. the ruins were amazing. the nerd that i am got a little too camera happy while at crete and filled up a large memory card in 2 hours.

four of my favorite dishes:
1. sushi. i think i'm in love.
2. paella, wine, and flan. what do you think i ate in barcelona everyday?
3. penne alla vodka. i was so disappointed when i tried to order it in italy. it turns out that this dish is italian-american and was not served anywhere in italy. no one even knows what vodka sauce is over there. they probably think it's russian.
4. asian noodles, in general. lo mein, pan fried, chow fun, pad thai, pad see yu, pearl noodles, udon, rice vermicelli, mamii, bihon. you name it.

four sites i visit daily:
1) google.com. my inquisitive mind, or my lack of attention, is highly satisfied by this site.
2) nytimes.com. i always want to know what's going on, from a new yorker's perspective of course. none of this boston.com nonsense.
3) gmail.com. how else could i gossip during work.
4) boston.craigslist.org. always on the prow, my friends, always on the prow.

four places i'd rather be right now:
1) new york. always and forever.
2) anywhere but boston. this city drives me nuts. from the red sox to refrigerators saving street parking spots to the awful drivers, this place is a mess.
3) in the warmth year around. and definitely near a beautiful beach and tennis court.
4) europe. they don't have bush.

four books/series i like:
1. gabriel garcia marquez's love in the time of cholera and one hundred years of solitude. his magical realism really takes the reader to a parallel universe.
2. time and again by jack finney. i'm a sucker for any novels taking place in ny. this novel involves time travel across several decades in ny, and for me, the more ny the better. :)
3. wonder boys by michael chabon. i can't help but root for the underdogs, and grady tripp is definitely an underdog, in his own pathetic and self-fulfilling way.
4. to kill a mockingbird. a classic. who wouldn't want atticus finch to be her dad?

four games i can play over and over again:
1. scrabble/literati. yes, i've made it to the online yahoo! version of scrabble. sad, i know.
2. taboo. i guess there are no words i can use to describe it. :)
3. pinball. even on the computer. sad, again, i know.
4. do drinking games count? :)

four bloggers i'm tagging:
1. rachel raymundo
2. lisa cruz
3. anna cruz
4. jennie lin
i don't really know anyone else who keeps blogs/xanga current. if you do though, take the time to do this. :) it makes you examine who you are and who you once were. i totally forgot that i sold golf balls when i was 10. :)

The Little Things in Life

I'm sitting in my warm bed in my pajamas right now with a laptop at hand. I'm so content. I love when you are in the middle of something ordinary and it suddenly dawns on you how much you are enjoying it. Life at that moment just seems so sweet and simple, doesn't it? Here is a sample list of the simple things I find joy in, the things that help make life a little more pleasant as I go through my day.

Hearing an old favorite song come on the radio
Sipping a warm drink after getting in from the cold
Getting into pajamas after a long day at work
Eating a delicious dinner you somehow managed to cook yourself
Feeling the sun on your skin after long months of jackets and layers
Drinking cold water after being in the summer heat
Leaving work early on a Friday
Getting out of class early
Taking a warm shower after a tough workout
Waking up from a satisfying afternoon nap
Falling asleep, in general :)

I found joy just thinking of and listing the small things that make me happy. I encourage you to think of the things that make your day pleasant and to appreciate them the next time they happen. By being aware and happy while in the moment, life really becomes that much simpler and more enjoyable. :)