Renegade

So I did it. After much planning and scheming,  I actually became an alternative transportation commuter. I really truly rode my bike to work.  The bike ride was actually really nice, but I think I'll be getting a new bike seat soon. Ouch. 

So this is how it went down. I woke up at 3:45 pm (I'd worked Mon & Tues nights) and went to Sport Chalet and to Target, where I found this sweet sling bag for $26.99. (I had planned to just use my backpack from Gap Kids from my freshman year in college until Ariana came over with her Jansport sling bag on Tues and I realized how completely perfectly that would work for this. And how awful my other backpack would have been)

The list for the backpack was long; it had to include all the shower stuff I needed. Side note: Obviously, I have to shower after riding here. It's about 95 degrees, even at night, and it takes about 45 minutes.  Even though our Commuter Connection brochure says showers are available, there is really only one in the basement in the guys' restroom (near the MORGUE) and one in the ER, which isn't really approved for anyone besides ER staff. But I heard it rarely gets used, and the Commuter Connection lady told me I should just ask to use it, so I did. One of the ER nurses gave me a tour of that shower on Monday night. On Wednesday, during the day, my manager nicely arranged for my badge to let me in the locked ER doors, and by the time I got there, it was ready to go. 

So again, this backpack had to hold shower stuff- including a small towel, makeup stuff, my lunch, my scrubs, socks, sunscreen, a water bottle, my cell phone, and anything else I might need for work. It was a tight fit, but it worked. I got to the ER in my sweaty workout clothes and walked straight through the waiting room. My badge worked just fine (thanks Linda!) and nobody was even in the staff lounge. I actually showered and got completely ready without seeing a soul. It kind of felt like sneaking into somebody else's house and showering, and I totally felt so cool. Considering the amount of stuff I had to remember, I was pretty proud of myself for only forgetting two things: 1) my mascara and 2) my bra. I had to wear a sweaty sports bra all night. I tried to dry it off by spinning it around in the air in the shower area, but it didn't really work so great. Oh well. 

The bike ride took 45 minutes and with everything I was still about 15 minutes early for work. 

And the ride home was uneventful (I was a little worried how I would manage being so tired, but the ride definitely woke me up. And I found out that hot people are in the park in the morning!) Oh, uneventful except that: while most of the time this experience made me feel cool, it wasn't a 100% consistent feeling. Take me and my dorkalicious pale white girl self with my princess pink backpack, helmet, and scrubs biking around a hot little tan girl with a tiny black dirty girl tank top and little black shorts walking her two Rottweilers. Yep. Sometimes I just felt dorky. That's okay. I'm still a Renegade.