Mind over matter

After a bit of debate, I decided to officially toss my hat into the unemployed ring and file for unemployment.  This is a completely new experience for me, but after the initial paperwork and approval process, I’ve settled into the routine of filing a weekly claim.

It’s pretty easy since it can be done online, but I have to report in person every four weeks to one of the local career centers.  For my first four week report, I drove to the nearest location, which was more or less on the way to my MIL’s, where I headed afterward to pick up Gabriel.

Last week, I planned my second four-week check-in to coincide with a time when my father-in-law was coming over to watch Gabriel for a couple of hours.  The night before, I realized that there was no excuse for driving the car to the career center and no reason I couldn’t bike there.

Still, I spent that evening and the morning-of flip flopping between biking and driving.  At less than four miles away on familiar streets, the trip was completely doable by bike, but most of my bike trips these days have been of the 2-4 mile round trip variety, and this would be more in the 7-8 mile range.  And, while the route was plenty familiar from inside a car, there were parts that I hadn’t biked before.

The heavy rain overnight and the gray clouds, with the threat of more rain, didn’t help sway me toward the bike.  Still, as my departure time approached, it wasn’t actively raining, or at least not much, and the radar revealed that the clouds’ bark was probably worse than their bite.

In the end, the opportunity to get some exercise on the way to and from a not so fun errand won out, and I dressed for biking (and the possibility of getting wet).  I rode Baby Jake for the first time in quite awhile (I’ve been riding Bub exclusively since we moved here in June), and the hardest part of the whole ride was just getting the bike ready for the errand — tires aired up, milk crate reattached to the rear rack, etc.

While I encountered a few sprinkles as I set out, I reached my destination invigorated and relatively dry, happy in my transportation choice.  By the time of my return trip, the sun broke through the clouds to reveal a beautiful fall morning.  I arrived home, very happy that I’d silenced the excuses in my head and opted to go by bike.