Walking home is getting treacherous. We have "black ice" in Dallas whenever we get precipitation and the temperature goes below freezing, but it's only on roads and only a hazard to drivers and passengers. Here, the sidewalks are made of asphalt, too, and so the sidewalks get black ice. And when you're walking home at night, everything's black. Well, not everything, because I do have street lights on the entire walk all the way home. But it just looks like a glistening spot on the sidewalk. And sometimes, it is just wet and not ice, especially when the temp is just "hovering" around freezing. Sometimes, I'll even walk in the street instead of the sidewalk because most of the moisture on the road has evaporated with all those cars driving over it all day. But the sidewalks see less traffic and have more shady spots. Of course, at night, those spots aren't shady, but during the day you can see where the moisture accumulates. It's either in spots with bad drainage (or good drainage depending how you're looking at it, but the spots where melted snow runs off the yard, across the sidewalk, and into the street) or spots in the shade.
New adventures! Praise God, I haven't had any adventures in falling down. I've slipped a few times but have always been able to regain my balance and get a good footing before letting gravity take total control.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Wednesday, February 28, 2007: Walking
How can it be the last day of February already? Where did the month go? I know it's shorter than the rest, but this one was exceedingly shorter than usual. I've been here 7 weeks now. How did that happen? If time flies when you're having fun then I must be having a giant blast! Oh wait, I am having a blast. No wonder it's flying.
I was leasing a car, but it was outrageous money and most days it sat in the driveway. My original plan was to pay outrageous money to a national company based out of Portland when I first got here because it was convenient (convenient to the airport and allowing me time to search for a cheaper one and if I found one outside of Portland, then arranging for transportation to and from the lease car place). But I've moved on from that plan to my new plan: no car. Yep. I'm not going to have a car at all. I'd say it would be better for me because I'll walk more, but I was already pretty much walking everywhere all the time. I turned in the lease car at the airport when I left for Winter Break on the 17th and MRM and RBF picked me up when I got back to town on the 24th.
There's a rent car place on the outskirts of town that I figured I could rent one for a day or a weekend. There's a taxi service in town (one man, one car) that another faculty member used when she had surgery on her knee and couldn't drive. She highly recommended him. That will take care of trips to the big grocery store or when I buy cases of bottled water. I figured lots of taxi rides and many one- to three- day rentals would still add up to less than one outrageously expensive lease car.
I'm on Day 4 with no car . . . no signs of withdrawal yet; though it is an odd feeling to not have one at my beck and call. Oooh, this plans for planning ahead. I guess that will be good for me, too.
I was leasing a car, but it was outrageous money and most days it sat in the driveway. My original plan was to pay outrageous money to a national company based out of Portland when I first got here because it was convenient (convenient to the airport and allowing me time to search for a cheaper one and if I found one outside of Portland, then arranging for transportation to and from the lease car place). But I've moved on from that plan to my new plan: no car. Yep. I'm not going to have a car at all. I'd say it would be better for me because I'll walk more, but I was already pretty much walking everywhere all the time. I turned in the lease car at the airport when I left for Winter Break on the 17th and MRM and RBF picked me up when I got back to town on the 24th.
There's a rent car place on the outskirts of town that I figured I could rent one for a day or a weekend. There's a taxi service in town (one man, one car) that another faculty member used when she had surgery on her knee and couldn't drive. She highly recommended him. That will take care of trips to the big grocery store or when I buy cases of bottled water. I figured lots of taxi rides and many one- to three- day rentals would still add up to less than one outrageously expensive lease car.
I'm on Day 4 with no car . . . no signs of withdrawal yet; though it is an odd feeling to not have one at my beck and call. Oooh, this plans for planning ahead. I guess that will be good for me, too.
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