Epidemic

There has been an epidemic of half-assedness here at TheNinjaDon. I've got almost a half-dozen posts that I've started. Once I lost momentum, I completely gave up on them... it is the way of blogging, for me at least. Catharsis by composition only functions in one sitting.

Rather than try to build momentum back up, to finish these half-baked posts, I'm just going to copy them here. In fact, I'll copy them, and then I'll finish the idea in no more than one sentence - this supplementary sentence will be in italics, for your convenience.

OK, here goes. Notice, by the way, how each section is shorter than the last. Quite the disturbing trend!

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from Prophylactic Oven Mitts, Sept 3:

I burned the bejeezus out of my finger while cooking dinner tonight. This being one of those nights when preparing the meal was somewhat involved, there was plenty of time to meditate on the burn.

What immediately came to mind was the college application of a friend I haven't talked to in 8 years. The prompt was something along the lines of "write page 187 of your autobiography", which is actually pretty cool.

Most of what she wrote was the sort of sophomoric prose one finds in a college application essay, although I'll grant her that she'd managed above-average palatability. What I do distinctly remember was that she'd included a brief description of an injury. Weaved into her narrative was a slip and fall, and, on page 187 of her autobiography, she bit her tongue.

It's a brilliant little literary device, I daresay. The minor injury as a metaphor for fallibility. The scar as a lesson learned.

Apt... apt.

You might say I'm a bit scarred. Especially after the past few weeks. Especially after the past year. By no means have I had to visit the emergency room, nor have I gone under the knife. I'm not claiming to be the scarred-iest in all the land.

But I have put some miles on the ol' largest-organ-in-the-body, and there are some marks to show for it. Many of them are from biking, so let's restrict our scope accordingly. My poor legs are covered in scabs and scars. I've been bruised and sliced and damaged every which way.

But have I learned anything? Well sure! With a little imagination, there is no situation in life that can't be reduced to a cycling analogy. Think about it.

Except, no. There's a difference between analogizing and really incorporating a lesson.

Supplement: I'm pretty happy with my lot in life.

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from Lifestyle, Sept 28

Ho hum. Another week, another weekend. A half dozen hours on the bike, plenty of sleep, and not a drop of alcohol. I watched the debate, I worked on my thesis, and I even woke up early enough on Sunday to watch simultaneous coverage of the cycling world championships and the F1 grand prix. The weekend left me recharged, healthy, and a little bit closer to adulthood.

Okay, none of that actually happened. Not even a little bit. Here's the real story:

Supplement: Going to the city and bar-hopping until 4 and then trekking across midtown to find greasy gyros, with all the associated debauchery and adventure, is totally worth the consequences of irresponsibility.

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from Epiphanies are Bad for Training, Oct 1

This morning found me riding in the wet grass of the 'cross course, silent but for heavy breathing and grinding gears. I know I need to work on my focus. All the fitness in the world won't do me any good if I can't stay in it, so to speak, because cruising uncomfortably is not the same as really pushing.

Supplement: Solving a puzzle that's been plaguing me for weeks may cause me to stop pedaling in the middle of a hard interval, but damn it feels good to solve a puzzle, and it'll probably feel even better to propose my thesis, which I can do now.

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from Are We In Brooklyn Yet? Oct 7

I didn't leave the lab until 4am last night. Part of me was tempted to just sprawl out on a chair or two and spend the night at my desk - it's not like I haven't done that before.

Supplement: Oh holy crap, my thesis proposal is so close to complete that I can taste it!