From spending hours on a bike, to getting used to driving a van many feet taller and longer than your average car, to pitching a tent and huddling in sleeping bags, much of what initially felt novel now feels very routine on this trip. Now that the Kansas roads have flattened and the scenery alternates between farmland and an occasional 2-block long town, my primary stimulation each day comes from swatting at flies that bite (surprisingly painfully hard) and waving at friendly truckers who honk “hello” as they drive past with their livestock. In other words, I fear boredom is fast approaching — this would be far from ideal, especially as part of why I joined Spokes in the first place was to ward off my routine summer boredom.
The view for most of the day
Today, I decided to take the approach of constructing different characters for myself to embody throughout the day to keep myself entertained. From these constructions, I was able to transcend “biking college kid” and explore instead different modes of being.
1) Megatron
Every day, we need to load up all our luggage into and out of the car (this is one of the many unexpected workouts Spokes involves). Today morning, I wore two backpacks on my torso to softly smash into walls, I swung duffel bags in my outstretched arms, and I menacingly looked at Jordan and made “whirrrrrr” sounds with my mouth and got called a “megatron.” The megatron was born, and she will surely return every morning and evening.
Megatron activation!
2) Bartender
Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I adore T Pain a little too much and that I think bartending is the coolest part time job of all time. Therefore, I decided to foster my skill and passion for this art by seizing the opportunity to pour water into the ice in the cooler today. Leo taught me to hold the water gallon directly upright and then swirl it to make the water come out as fast as possible, so I have that skill too, now.
Hire me!
3) Aspiring Iron Man
I’m going to be honest, I am always fighting with this bike rack hitched behind our van. Every day, trying to fit bikes (of different heights) into this thing is the most exhausting jigsaw puzzle of all time, especially with the sun beating down and the lock getting jammed. I will either injure a finger, calf, my emotions, or all of the above, trying to work with this thing. I’m not quite there yet, but once I’m able to use this thing successfully, that would mean I reached the physical and mental fortitude of Iron Man.
My greatest opponent :(
4) Paparazzi
Jordan has declared war. And by that, I mean she has created many cursed stickers of me by capturing candid moments on camera where I am not the most… composed. I am morally obligated to return the favor. As being a paparazzi is a skill I’m still developing, I tried to capture a candid shot today. Unfortunately, she is far more composed than I am in her daily life so she just looks cool.
Jordan created this sticker so I tried to return the favor….
…. however she unfortunately does not have the same ability to look awkward when caught off guard.
5) House Pet
Since we’ve arrived at our host’s home today, I’ve transformed my hand into a pillow, shared a water cup, and made intense and meaningful eye contact with some new friends (photos below for clarification). In other words, I’ve really integrated into this wonderful community. I often sincerely wish that I could live full time as a well-cared for house pet.
My hand is now a pillow
My water cup sharing partner
This is the eye contact of someone who truly understands me
Good night,
Helen