Are you kidding me?

On Wednesday I had my bike maintained and while riding home last night a spoke broke.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Really it shouldn’t have happened and yet it did.
Quite annoying especially with the Department of Transportation deciding that a major road should be closed for a few days so my option of driving becomes a bigger pain.
And then I go into really long days so if the company who performed the repair refuses to redo their work I have to locate someone else to do the same work and am then out 30 bucks.
Which then places me in the situation of what to do if they refuse.
Well bad review and suggest people go elsewhere.
Really not too many other options besides that.
And yet if they fix it I’ll talk them up.

Like being behind this garbage truck I have the choice of deep breathe and speed by or just accept it and let this moment pass.

Maintain

Got my bike maintenanced.
Now the odd part is my standard thought regarding my bike which is: When things are bad I keep thinking of getting a new bike but when it works there is nothing better than riding.
Mind some of that as changed lately as I really begin to consider a new bike.
Not just because of I met the goal I set but also because the style of my riding might be helped with a different sort of bike.
Still I am happy to ride and will keep my bike even if the Barrow is coming up on sale, and Public keeps tempting me and I hear more and more about the solid nature of a work cycle. Yet I maintain my Raleigh and I keep riding it.
I might be tempted by another bike but so far I have no great desire to change my ride.
Especially when I run into things like this.

This odd creature has been a long the Burke Gilman for well over a week now.
Not certain who made it but I thought it may have been a lean to home for someone for a while.
Then it was gone.
Disappeared even though I expected to see it slowly deteriorate by the coming Autumn weather and then eventual return to land with the winter. But, alas, no luck and instead it disappeared.
More than likely a crew was cleaning up the park and removed it.
You will be missed Burke Creature.
You were no dinosaur but you were an odd attraction.

Muggy

Say what you will about the Northwest but the amount of summer I spend complaining about the clinging heavy heat is quite low. Sure once in a while we get a burning scorching heat, or an extended period without rain but it is rare that it is hot and the air so heavy moving in it feels like soup.
And yet that is what this week has been like.
Tuesday morning in fact as I rode in during the dawn hours it was already warm with weight in the air and as I left the theatre in the afternoon I was heard to remark, “This is bullshit!” As I walked out the stage door.

So this morning to be greeted by a chill in the air and low hanging overcast felt like a  relief.
Still consulting the future weather it looks like the weekend may warm up. Which I’m sure if grand for people that that expect to spend it outside getting the last few breathes of summer before the Autumn but for me it’s not my favorite. I still long for the days of wearing wool and the comfort of long sleeves and extra layers.
Sure when summer comes again I will feel odd having my arms exposed but I rather like the feeling of those extra layers.
But that’s me.

Reversed

I have a vintage paisley shirt.
Not incredible vintage maybe 20 years top but it’s still an excellent shirt.
I wear to slightly dressed down but formal events because it is a great shirt but not something for the big time formal situations I occasionally find myself in.
I usually pair it with a solid black tie because as much as I love pattern on pattern very little goes with paisley and it already has some much character.
Last night was the first time someone bothered pointing out that this is reverse of what should be done and I know this and couldn’t care less.
Like being right handed and wearing my watch on my right wrist, or matching pattern of my socks but not color(or color but not pattern), or many of the other small indicators that I accept the rules but often ignore a part. It’s deliberate, intentional, and something worth doing. It styles part of my look and while it means I stand out it also means that I distinct which can be good or bad.

Between

For sometime I have been trying to find a casual blazer.
Not a structure wool or cotton thing but something softer and more suited to my day to day life without coming across as “over dressed”. Something that has a slightly worn in look that goes quite well with the rest of my wardrobe. Quasi distressed but attempting for some formality.
You know like me.
While I have seen a few things that would work most are either too small or in that formal range which I’d rather do without.
Today I tried something new.
I went to a mall and its outlaying shops.
Given my size and retailers choosing to barely stock items in that size I figured heading to a big and tall shop might be the way to go. Also helps that I am currently working scenic Kent, Washington and the Southcenter  Mall is on my way home which happens to have a big and tall shop.
That shop is interesting.
I have often heard from women how difficult it is to find something stylish in a larger size.  I won’t claim the big and tall solved that but they did have a variety of fairly nice blazers and suits in large sizes. Not simply a blue, charcoal, and black one but quite a few choices. Sure some of it lacked style but a casual section was there too. 
Unfortunately it appears I am not quite big nor tall enough for this shop.
While there is something of a confidence booster it hardly helped the situation.
To the mall proper.

Ever since going to the Lakewood Mall to back to clothes shop I have found the mall a bit intimidating.
I have a set idea of what I wish to wear and to find that in a mall is often quite difficult.
Hell to find it anywhere causes some problems but in a mall I have little chance.
But I was there and I figured why not?

Unfortunately men’s wear has moved to a slim fit.
While this provides a nice silhouette and fits many men quite well I am not in that group.
Besides obvious problems in the mid section I also have problems finding clothing that will fit my shoulders.
Downside of my peasant build but it does flatter quite a few men.  So I need to be careful when I shop for shirts and jackets. If they are slim fit I need to go a size up and even then it may not work. In pants I often fit in the waist but am constrained in the thigh. Also I have a belief that a heavy guy in skinny jeans looks like his mom doesn’t know his size.
It’s a little wrong because I have two pairs of slim cut pants that I rather like, fit well, and I receive compliments when I wear but I won’t move to that look all the time. Especially when I have to climb because my thighs cause problems.

Let it be said the mall proved less than
So I will continue looking.
At some point something will fit and work but for the moment I am without this article of clothing I hope to find.
Shame, really, but these things happen.