Friday:

- I caught the first half of the Critical Mass ride. I chatted and rode with nobody_here and psychedelicbike and peeled off home at a convenient point. I continue to be conflicted about the message they're sending- a bulk of the people wanted to take both lanes, so both lanes we took. Sigh. Also, the fraction of people wearing helmets felt, um, quite low. I'm pondering how my own energies might be best spent, and after this last ride I'm feeling less like it's via the "unfocused protest" route. *ponder*

[edit to add: Bike odometer has 4950 miles; exactly 800 miles this calendar year, or about 1280km (see previous bike post about nice round numbers). I'm hoping to get another 50 miles before it gets icy and I put away the bike 'till the warm season again.]

- Dinner and movies chez chezmax and the_infamous_j. I liked Perfect Blue, though not as much as Paprika, but it was neat to see some of the same character touches used in more ominous ways- such as the spritely evil Mima skipping around just like Paprika had. I'd give it 3/5 stars. Then we watched a bit of trippy anime as a palette-cleanser, Azumanga Daioh, which is addictive in much the same way chocolate-covered espresso beans are, that more than a bit tends to make the brain hurt some.

Saturday:
- Low energy day, because I didn't sleep very well. I might blame the chocolate-covered espresso beans, though I expect that's only an excuse. Saturday I ran errands, and cleaned the vegetable drawers of the fridge. It was too pissy out to do much else outside. I bought new pants.

Sunday:
- I was out the door before 8, and off with two other Quakers to Sparta, just a few km from Lake Erie, for a regional meeting. These were the first Canadian business sessions I've attended outside our local Meeting, in the six years I've lived here. The business sessions felt to me like going-through-the-motions, rather than something at all spiritually led, and the afternoon presentation was... a mixed bag. The best part of the trip was meeting people at lunch- including one family who got excommunicated at their last church. Also, singing this hymn set to "Finlandia", which I've always enjoyed. (I didn't think I knew it; but I remembered harmonies from the second bar onward!)

On the drive, we passed Mapleton's Taxidermy and Cheese Store.



Finally, I was glad to see d., since he got home before I did; and I was happy to take him out to sushi in the evening, but otherwise, the day felt frustrating.