My Boss Thinks I Should Write A Blog

Funny, no?

It all started when I first started working for the Committee, and I recognized one of the clerks. I asked her if she had worked for a particular Congresswoman in the past (I was strongly associating her with the period of time I worked in this one office) and she said no. It drove me nuts every time I saw her. Then one day, she was telling me about her pool team...billiards. And it came to me. For a brief period of time back in 2005ish (also the same period of time I was working for that Congresswoman), I was on a women's pool league.

Those who know me personally still don't really believe it. I'm very nearly the last girl you'd expect to see hanging around a pool hall. But I was newly single and nearly friendless in a city I didn't know well (and what I did know of it, I hated) and my one remaining friend Grace was in the league and suggested I join to get out and meet people and make friends. I lasted a good 6 months or so before I just couldn't do it anymore. I hate pool. I'm bad at pool. I liked the all the women, but I just couldn't pretend to give a crap about pool anymore.

Anyway, turns out that this clerk was in that same league and I'm sure she and I talked at some point, or at the very least I listened while she talked (she's one of the super-outgoing, always joking around, center of attention types). Mystery solved. My boss got wind of this and ATE it up. My boss is a wonderful force of nature--an outspoken, slightly mischievous  New Orleans woman who seems to have had quite the entertaining youth. I think that she thinks that I'm quiet, reserved, sweet and a little uptight. She loved the idea of me in a pool hall even more than my own six-brothers-having, beer-drinking, practical-joke-playing "Catherine-you're-going-to-be-just-like-Diane Chambers from Cheers" mother.

Just yesterday, I told her that I'd gotten my orange belt in karate and my arms were still killing me from the belt test and she just started laughing and said "I'm sorry, I just get such a kick out of all your eclectic activities--karate, pool, ballroom dance, your Irish thing, the bike--you should write a blog!". I said "ah, it wouldn't be half as interesting as living it, plus I'd always forget to update".

I think that sums up the status quo nicely.

Comments

[welshcyclist]

Hi there Catherine, spotted your blog on Let's go ride a bike, enjoyed your post and had a look at your film of your commute. I watched the whole 10 minutes, and loved every minute of it. Your commute looks very enjoyable, how do you manage when the cold weather sets in ?

[Catherine]

Hi welshcyclist, it is a very enjoyable commute and I feel very lucky to live and work where I do. I'm not very good in cold weather. I've found that under 35 degrees F is too difficult to do the whole commute, so those days I just ride my bike to the Metro station and take the train in to work. Just riding around town-- under 3 miles--is not difficult in any temperature provided I dress properly (which, as you'll see from at least one entry this winter, I don't always do). DC doesn't generally see very many extremely cold days (this winter has been a different story), so a normal year wouldn't be as big of a problem as this year has been.

I received quite a bit of cold weather gear for Christmas, so I'm going to give the "under 35" days another try and see if the situation is improved with Under Armor and a down-lined trench coat!

[welshcyclist]

Hi Catherine, I do my best to commute all year round, fortunately here in Wales, we normally only suffer a couple of weeks of snow and ice, each winter. Sadly, that's not been the case this year, so far those conditions have been with us for 6 weeks and counting, and yet more snow forecast, for this week. I took a bad fall on ice back just before Christmas 2008, and have wimped out of risking my commute, which is 40 miles roundtrip, if there is any threat of ice. Consequently, I've only managed 4 days commuting in the last 6 weeks, and on my one leisure ride last Monday, I ended up in a heap, having found a large patch of ice, cut my leg quite badly, but I was desperate to go for a ride, no patience, I suppose.