I made the choice not to upgrade my iPhone in favor of buying myself another new treat, a bike! I've had a Schwinn Cruiser for years, but I don't ride it often because I find it clunky to ride around downtown unless it is a night or weekend. Not to mention it is heavy and the handlebars are wide, so it is hard to transport anywhere. I've been shopping around for a bit, settled on the Trek line of hybrids after visiting many bike shops and taking a few bikes out for a spin. A hybrid seemed like the perfect mix of urban riding, but still able to hit some of the trails. I fell in love with the Trek 7300 today after a quick test ride thanks to Guthrie's- Mikey got me all hooked up! After getting shitty customer service at most other bike shops, it was refreshing to find some one down to earth and not trying to sell me something I didn't want and who didn't seem offended that I was picky about the color of the bike- no blue! If you need a bike, go there, seriously. I can tell you for a fact that I got my bike there for at least $80 less than I could have at another store downtown. I just got home from a little 5 mile bike tour of downtown at midnight- lots of people still out and about after the arts festival.
Before I got the bike, I acquired another important toy. A new fishing rod, actually the first one I have ever bought. As most of you know, next week is the heated family fishing competition out at the farm in Nebraska and there is the coveted family fishing trophy at stake. Instead of going to Cabela's, I went to a local shop called Sportsman's Warehouse. Keeping it local is important to me! The guys there were great and funny and talked me into pink. That way, I can't get it confused with any of the other rods- even though pink really isn't my thing. I feel prepared to kick some fishing ass now. Which is funny because I usually lure fish because bait is gross and I won't touch my own fish- that is what Dad is for!
After I got my bike, I went to the Utah Arts Festival with Jaime, Mandy, and Mandy's sister. I love living downtown, especially during festival season. Two blocks from home we gathered with tons of people to enjoy beer, music, art, and good food. We listened to a local band called Cavedoll and were so impressed we picked up the CD. There was a crazy man dancing that totally made my night too, it was fantastic! I also picked up what might be one of my new favorite things. "Duncan Mulls It Over" by Austin artist Kip Holm is part of his Duncan collection of a cat he had for 14 years who recently passed away. Duncan is perfect for the black, grey, and white bathroom so I hung his picture up in there and he is a great addition! His expressions remind me a lot of Mack. The only reason I even walked over to the booth was because it was mostly empty, but there was an older gentleman sitting on a director's chair who caught my attention. He was Kip and immediately he struck me as one of those people that has seen a lot in his day and his photos were fantastically simple and bold. His bio in the booth said something along the lines of "you can have my film camera when you pry it from my cold dead hands." He still shoots film and develops all of his own prints. I love it!
Today was a big busy crazy day of treats and fun and good times. Life is good :)
