Hello folks! Hope you have all been well and healthy :) Time for me to provide some updates on my resolutions so far (well... a little past time... but better late than never?)
Let's start with the walking. OK, I'll be honest. There have been quite a few days since my last post when I didn't actually get up enough gumption to walk out in the cold. But... some nights, after dinner, Eric and I would walk down our driveway, across the street, and around Calvin's campus for awhile. Except for the relative frigidity of the air, this is a pretty enjoyable way to get exercise :) The road that our apartment is on has a pond with a bridge and a gazebo. For Christmas, they strung white lights up all over the gazebo and the bridge, so walking outside at night can actually feel quite magical. Not to mention that it is all reminiscent of a thing called "Calvin walks." While in college, it can be hard for couples to actually find a time or place where they can be alone. So, after dark, it was quite common to see couples strolling hand in hand all over campus, sometimes stopping in some darker shadows to make out for a bit. Going for a "Calvin walk" meant that, indeed, your relationship was progressing to an official level. So, now that we're married and Calvin alumni (of a few months), it's fun to walk around the campus and pretend like we're still going for a Calvin walk :)
That was the enjoyable part of walking. The rest of my walking experiences have been somewhat less romantic and mostly performed out of necessity. I am trying to find a job. Since we don't have a car, whenever I see a potentially interesting job posting, I check the bus route to see if I could access the location. No sense in applying otherwise! There's a handy little tool called the trip planner on the bus's website. Here, you type in your starting address and ending address, and they suggest routes for you to take, how long it will take, and how far you will have to walk. Last week I applied at a cute children's clothing boutique. I typed the address into the trip planner, but the result puzzled me slightly. I couldn't find the bus number anywhere. It simply said: number of transfers 0, total walking distance: 1.3 miles. It took me a minute, but then I got it. It was suggesting that I simply walk the 1.3 miles on foot. Lovely. Well, walking is good for you, so I decided to to make the trek to the store for an application. I pulled on my tallest boots, put on my warmest coat and gloves, and plunged out into the cold. The route I take leads me through Calvin's campus and back through its soccer fields and cross country trails. This road had not been plowed. The whole ordeal felt very much like trying to run through loose sand. Every step was sinking and uneven. My knees actually started to ache from all the twisting that my legs had to do in order for me to maintain my balance. I was, shall we say, not amused. I did find it slightly funny, though, to see a man standing in the road, watching his dog trot around beyond the fence, barking happily as he circled the sign that clearly read: "No Dogs, Bikes, or Golf Balls." Perhaps the man had also missed the several earlier signs that read: "Dogs must be leashed and kept on the road." Oh well, at least Mr. Puppy enjoyed a good romp.
I thought that after wallowing my way through Calvin's snowy back roads I would emerge more or less directly across from the clothing store. That was an incorrect supposition. I came out at a four lane road marked 50 miles an hour with cars whizzing past me and no sidewalk to be seen. The snow was piled high on the side of the road, probably at least knee-deep, so I walked, very sullenly, along the edge of the road itself. Cars rushed past me. I was honked at. I was miserable. I could have reached out a hand and touched any of the cars as they drove by. If this was what it was going to be like to walk to work each day.... Eventually I came to a stop-light that had a pedestrian crossing light. Lo and behold, there appeared to be a sidewalk on the other side of the street after all! It just hadn't been shoveled so it was impossible to see before. Now why would the city of Grand Rapids go to the trouble of creating a sidewalk if they weren't going to keep it shoveled?! After crossing over, I could see that there was a narrow line of footprints outlined in the deep snow. The shoveling had taken place about 20 yards into the block, and then stopped altogether. Lovely.
Well, I interviewed at the store yesterday, and will find out sometime early next week if that long walk is to become a more frequent occurrence! By the time I got home that first day, I had worn a hole in my brand new pair of socks, as well as a hole in the skin on the back of my heels :( Guess I'll just have to toughen up! More to come... !
Let's start with the walking. OK, I'll be honest. There have been quite a few days since my last post when I didn't actually get up enough gumption to walk out in the cold. But... some nights, after dinner, Eric and I would walk down our driveway, across the street, and around Calvin's campus for awhile. Except for the relative frigidity of the air, this is a pretty enjoyable way to get exercise :) The road that our apartment is on has a pond with a bridge and a gazebo. For Christmas, they strung white lights up all over the gazebo and the bridge, so walking outside at night can actually feel quite magical. Not to mention that it is all reminiscent of a thing called "Calvin walks." While in college, it can be hard for couples to actually find a time or place where they can be alone. So, after dark, it was quite common to see couples strolling hand in hand all over campus, sometimes stopping in some darker shadows to make out for a bit. Going for a "Calvin walk" meant that, indeed, your relationship was progressing to an official level. So, now that we're married and Calvin alumni (of a few months), it's fun to walk around the campus and pretend like we're still going for a Calvin walk :)
That was the enjoyable part of walking. The rest of my walking experiences have been somewhat less romantic and mostly performed out of necessity. I am trying to find a job. Since we don't have a car, whenever I see a potentially interesting job posting, I check the bus route to see if I could access the location. No sense in applying otherwise! There's a handy little tool called the trip planner on the bus's website. Here, you type in your starting address and ending address, and they suggest routes for you to take, how long it will take, and how far you will have to walk. Last week I applied at a cute children's clothing boutique. I typed the address into the trip planner, but the result puzzled me slightly. I couldn't find the bus number anywhere. It simply said: number of transfers 0, total walking distance: 1.3 miles. It took me a minute, but then I got it. It was suggesting that I simply walk the 1.3 miles on foot. Lovely. Well, walking is good for you, so I decided to to make the trek to the store for an application. I pulled on my tallest boots, put on my warmest coat and gloves, and plunged out into the cold. The route I take leads me through Calvin's campus and back through its soccer fields and cross country trails. This road had not been plowed. The whole ordeal felt very much like trying to run through loose sand. Every step was sinking and uneven. My knees actually started to ache from all the twisting that my legs had to do in order for me to maintain my balance. I was, shall we say, not amused. I did find it slightly funny, though, to see a man standing in the road, watching his dog trot around beyond the fence, barking happily as he circled the sign that clearly read: "No Dogs, Bikes, or Golf Balls." Perhaps the man had also missed the several earlier signs that read: "Dogs must be leashed and kept on the road." Oh well, at least Mr. Puppy enjoyed a good romp.
I thought that after wallowing my way through Calvin's snowy back roads I would emerge more or less directly across from the clothing store. That was an incorrect supposition. I came out at a four lane road marked 50 miles an hour with cars whizzing past me and no sidewalk to be seen. The snow was piled high on the side of the road, probably at least knee-deep, so I walked, very sullenly, along the edge of the road itself. Cars rushed past me. I was honked at. I was miserable. I could have reached out a hand and touched any of the cars as they drove by. If this was what it was going to be like to walk to work each day.... Eventually I came to a stop-light that had a pedestrian crossing light. Lo and behold, there appeared to be a sidewalk on the other side of the street after all! It just hadn't been shoveled so it was impossible to see before. Now why would the city of Grand Rapids go to the trouble of creating a sidewalk if they weren't going to keep it shoveled?! After crossing over, I could see that there was a narrow line of footprints outlined in the deep snow. The shoveling had taken place about 20 yards into the block, and then stopped altogether. Lovely.
Well, I interviewed at the store yesterday, and will find out sometime early next week if that long walk is to become a more frequent occurrence! By the time I got home that first day, I had worn a hole in my brand new pair of socks, as well as a hole in the skin on the back of my heels :( Guess I'll just have to toughen up! More to come... !
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