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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Junta de comité
Thursday, January 26, 2012
How to safely ride a bike in Mexico City
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via The Mija Chronicles by Lesley on 1/20/12
Photo: Flickr/Paul Brady
"A red trickle flowed from the young victim's nostrils, and when he stopped blinking the crowd started to thin, people walking away in a silence as yet unbroken by the wailing of an ambulance. At that moment, Araceli fully and finally comprehended the cruelty of her native city, the precariousness of life in the presence of so much unregulated traffic and unfulfilled need, a city where people born farmers and fishermen sprinted before cars faster than any horse or sailing ship."
– From "The Barbarian Nurseries" by Hector Tobar
I've been a faithful user of Mexico City's EcoBici bikeshare program since it began a few years ago. We don't have a car, so both Crayton and I use the EcoBici to go pretty much anywhere. Crayton rides it to work; I use it to go to the markets, friends' houses, and to my tours.
In theory, the bikeshare program is a fantastic idea. We're helping get more cars off the streets and we're no longer paying cabs to sit in traffic. But a lot of times I wonder: what the hell am I doing riding a bike in this city? Cars cut me off. Pedestrians step right in front of me. Peseros rumble dangerously close to my left side, silently warning that they could come closer and crush me with a flick of their tires.
I've been thinking about this even more than usual lately, because I had my first accident a few weeks ago. A woman in a dark parked car opened her door and I smacked into it. (Other than a few scrapes, I was fine.) Crayton has now had three accidents, including one that resulted in a cracked rib. The passage I quoted at the beginning of this entry is about a bike-riding vendor in Mexico City who is hit by a car. It's fiction, but still, accidents are a very real possibility here.
As the EcoBici program continues to grow — there was a six-week waiting list, last time I heard — here are some suggestions on how cyclists can ride as safely as possible:
Tips on How to Ride A Bike Safely in Mexico City
1. Follow the flow of traffic. I don't know how many times I've seen people riding the wrong way down a one-way street. This is especially dangerous in the city's main bike lane on Reforma. A few times I've turned a curve and almost hit someone who was headed right toward me. Please, if you're riding a bike, ride in the same direction as the cars.
2. Respect the stoplights. I know, I know. A lot of cars don't respect the stoplights here. So why should the cyclists? The thing is, it's much more dangerous for a cyclist to get hit by a car, than a car to hit another car. If you're just blazing through the intersection without a care in the world — as I've seen people do here — you're tempting fate. Crayton has also argued to me that if the cyclists respect the stoplights, then drivers will respect us more, too. I'm not entirely sure if I believe that one.
3. Be aware. Mexico City drivers are, by nature, both reckless and defensive. They'll ignore red lights and swerve across three lanes of traffic to make a right-hand turn. Chilango drivers still haven't accepted that cyclists share their roads, so if you're on your bike, it's important to keep an eye on the cars in front of you and behind you. I often sneak looks behind my shoulder to see if a car is hoping to turn, or at least to let him know I'm there. I also use hand signals to communicate where I'm going. Which brings me to my next piece of advice…
4. Don't ride too fast. I personally love riding down a busy street, the wind whipping through my hair. But if you're riding too fast, you have less time to act quickly if something comes across your path. Riding a bike in Mexico City can feel like a video game a lot of times — obstacles like the tamale vendor, the street sweeper, and the woman walking her dog step right in front of your tires, and you have to be able to anticipate.
5. Watch out for motorcyclists. For some reason in Mexico City, motorcyclists think they can ride in the bike lanes and blatantly ignore traffic laws — even more than regular drivers.
Other Basic Safety Tips
- Crayton and I always wear helmets.
- We never talk on the phone or listen to music while we ride.
- Texting while bike-riding seems like an obvious no-no, but I've actually seen people do this before.
Knowing The Law
A current version of Mexico City's transit law is hard to find, but Crayton, a skilled Googler, unearthed this PDF — ojo: it takes awhile to load — on the Setravi website. Setravi is the Secretaría de Transportes y Vialidad del Distrito Federal; the rules about cyclists start in Article 29.
It's actually a pretty entertaining read. Sensible transit laws actually exist in this city! It's just that few people follow them. (And maybe that's because the law doesn't have any teeth — cyclists who don't follow the law receive a verbal warning instead of fines.)
Do you have any other tips for riding a bike safely here? Let me know below.
More on bike-riding in DF:
A Cinematic Love Letter To Riding a Bike Through Mexico City (The Atlantic.com) A neat, two-minute video depicting what it's like to ride a bike here. You'll notice the cyclist doesn't exactly follow the traffic laws.
Bike Riding Flourishes in, of all places, Mexico City (Fox News Latino)
Atiende EcoBici Lista de Espera de Usuarios (El Universal)
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Festival de la doma y el zen
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Habits That Crush Us
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via zenhabits by Leo on 1/23/12
'Don't panic.' ~Douglas Adams
Post written by Leo Babauta.
Why is it that we cannot break the bad habits that stand in our way, crushing our desires to live a healthy life, be fit, simplify, be happier?
How is it that our best intentions are nearly always beaten? We want to be focused and productive, exercise and eat healthy foods, stop smoking and learn to get rid of debt and clutter, but we just can't.
The answer lies in something extremely simple, but something most people aren't aware of:
We don't know how to cope with stress and boredom in a healthy way.
The bad habits we've formed are often useful to us, in dealing with stress and boredom. Consider the bad habits that fit this bill:
- Smoking
- Internet procrastination
- Eating junk food
- Drinking
- Being rude/angry/depressed
- Watching TV or playing video games (if you become addicted & sedentary)
- Shopping (getting into debt, building clutter)
- Procrastinating on finances, paperwork, clutter (too stressful)
- Inactivity (avoiding exercise is a stress avoidance technique)
- Biting nails, chewing hair, clenching jaw
This isn't a complete list, but all of these habits fill a strong need: they are ways to cope with stress and/or boredom. We have formed them as coping mechanisms, and they stick around because we don't have better ways of coping.
So what if instead, we replaced them with healthier ways of coping? We'd get rid of the problems of these bad habits, and start getting the benefits of better habits.
Better Coping Habits
How can we deal with stress and boredom instead? There's no one answer, but the habits we form should be ones that lead to healthier results. Some ideas:
- Walk/run/swim/bike
- Do pushups, pullups, squats
- Yoga/meditation
- Play with friends/kids
- Create, write, play music, read when we're bored
- Learn to enjoy being alone, instead of being bored
- Take a daily walk and enjoy nature
- Deal with finances, clutter, paperwork immediately, in small steps, so that it doesn't get stressful
- Take control of a situation: make a list, get started in baby steps, so things don't get stressful
- Learn to be mindful of your breathing, body tension, stressed-out thoughts
- Get some rest
- Learn to savor healthy food that you find delicious
- Slow down
- Take a hot bath
- Learn to live in the present
These are some good examples. Each habit above will help cope with or prevent stress or boredom. If you replace the bad habits with these, your life will be less stressful and healthier. You'll have less debt, less clutter, less fat, less disease.
Changing the Habits
The old habits of coping didn't build up overnight, and they won't go away overnight either. We built them up through years of repetition, and the only way to change them is also years of repetition.
But an important start is to realize why we do them — stress and boredom, largely — and realize that there are other ways to deal with these two problems. We need to be aware when stress and boredom start to kick in, and instead of being afraid of them, realize that they are problems easily solved by other habits. Let's take the fear out of stress and boredom. Let's learn that we can beat them simply, and prove that with repeated good habits.
Once you have that realization, follow the usual Zen Habits steps to changing a habit:
- Pick one habit at a time.
- Start very small – just a minute or two, if you want it to stick.
- Use social motivation like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or email.
- Be very conscious of your triggers, and do the habit consciously every time the trigger happens.
- Enjoy the new habit. You'll stick with it longer if you do.
We have been crushed by the habits we've formed out of fear of stress and boredom. We can fight back, by learning to breathe, to smile, to go slowly. We can humble these giants that crush us by turning them into mere gnats to be shooed away with a smile.
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Rain
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Copyranter
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Monday, January 16, 2012
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
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Monday, January 9, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Chuck & Beans
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Carta a Los Reyes Magos
Graaaaaaaaan frase
Uds saben que uno quiere la paz mundial, pero no sólo de eso vive el hombre
Uds saben que uno quiere la paz mundial, pero no sólo de eso vive el hombre
Enviado por -alice- a través de Google Reader:
vía Visa para un sueño de MaJaDeRiA el 2/01/12
Estimados Reyes Magos:
Uds perdonaran que una empieceuna carta para pedir algo, con un reclamo, pero tras 33 años de ausencia, creoque tengo el derecho a reclamar. Si es el colmo que uds no lleguen a Colombia.Está bien, somos un país violento, y si, tenemos un muy mal historial matando alos que se atreven a cargar oro, y claro, hay gente que mata por fumarse hastael incienso, y claro, seguro alguien descubrirá la forma de usar la mirra comocomponente químico de sepa dios que droga. Pero, no qué muy magos??. Esto delmiedo se ve muy mal, he de decirles.
Aclarado ese punto, me voy apermitir pedirles por primera vez algo. "Algo" es un bonito eufemismo paraaclararles que la lista es larga. Lo siento, pero ya metida en el cuento de "pedirlea los Reyes Magos" me pareció que justo era el momento para hacer una cartalarga. Si les sirve de consuelo, no creo que esto se vuelva costumbre.
Empecemos con lo material, lesparece?. Digo, para qué mentir por convivir. Uds saben que uno quiere lapaz mundial, pero no sólo de eso vive elhombre, así que me permitiré pedirles una cosa material este año. Lo que quieroeste año es una mochila Totto. Como la que YO me compró todos los años, yo se.Van a decirme que ni siquiera son novedosa en lo que pido, pero resulta queeste año por motivos de economía estamos en un plan bastante ahorrativo, yentonces, no pasé por el autoregalo de la mochila, y si extraño esaautotradicción de empezar el año con una nueva mochila.
Sabrán uds que yo no uso cartera(bolsa, le dicen en estas tierras) pero uso mochila. Y que tengo la costumbrede usar la misma todo el año, así que no estaría mal, que el 2012 conserve lacostumbre. Además, por que si este año voy a jugar a freelancear tanto en lolaboral como en lo personal, pues no esta demás, tener una buena mochila endonde puedas cargar tu oficina o tu vida. A según lo necesites.
Y por que tantas explicaciones?.Bueno, pues por que vengo a decirles humildemente que necesito esa mochila, másallá de si me he portado bien. Podemos ahorrarnos esa pregunta?. No necesitover como revisan sus listas. Yo les puedo decir eso por adelantado: este año mehe portado mal. Peroooooooooooo, relajos aparte, yo necesito esa mochila. No esun buen justificante?.
Ahora, si se van a poner en elplan de "los regalos son para los que se han portado bien" vengo entonces conla más humilde de las disposiciones a pedirles una lista de cosas que SI noestoy dispuesta a negociar. Todo lo que sigue a continuación NECESITO y QUIEROque pase y siga pasando en el 2012.
· Horas de buena conversación
· Risas y la capacidad de ver el mundo por el ladoamable.
· La posibilidad de abrazar a mi sobrino
· Buena salud y vitalidad para mis padres. Comobien dirían las abuelas "por favor, que me los conserven".
· Las buenas compañías, entendiendo eso, como lasgrandes amistades que surgen de las charlas sinceras
· Gente que hable de frente y sin agüeros. Evítenmepor favor este año a los pendejos/as que dicen una cosa y hacen otra.
· Que siga disfrutando de MI compañía en ciertosdías, sabiendo que de todas formas, en realidad yo no estoy sola.
· Buena salud, por favor.
· Muy de la mano con lo que mi hermano llama "vocaciónde pobre" no vengo acá a pedirles dinero, sino a que la vida me de para vivircomo yo quiero. Nada más, pero tampoco nada menos.
· Que todos los días yo aprenda algo nuevo.
La lista el larga, yo se, pero 10items tampoco se ven tan imposibles si los comparan con esta gente que está pidiéndoles"dominar el mundo" en cualquiera de los millones de cartas que reciben porestas fechas.
Además, me comprometo a ponermucho mucho mucho de mi parte para que las cosas suceden así como yo lasquiero. Vaya, ya me quedo claro que si quiero ganarme la lotería tengo quecomprarme el tiquete. Así que no se preocupen, no me sentaré a esperar que lascosas sucedan, pero cualquier buena ayuda y buena voluntad de su parte siempreserá agradecida.
No sobra, además, pedirles la pazmundial.
Por su atención gracias.
Saludos
Yo.
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Monday, January 2, 2012
luna, lunita, cascabelera
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