30 minutes will bring me to 11am, well just past 11. It's raining outside today, for the first time in what feels like months. It's a true turning of the season to me. The rain is cold, and uncomfortable. I've always loved the rain to walk in and enjoy, but this turn of the season rain always sucks. I walked Sara to school, as is my routine this morning and was soaked to the bone by the time I got home. Note: Don't wear khakis in a soaking rain. They become somewhat see-through and slightly embarrassing. Hee. :)

There are two photo Memes this week as usual. There's "Season Change" and "Found". I went through my stuff this morning looking for new/old photos to use, but came up empty. I think I could get some great shots if I went outside for season change, but I hate risking getting the camera wet. (And me wet again, heh). I may anyways, who knows.

It's a slower day today. I don't have a soap to make since I won't work on the weekend (so I wouldn't cut the soap that made today, tomorrow.) and I'm deliberately forgetting that I have a shitload of non-soapmaking work to do. I want to do all the webpages in advance for the sale. So that it's just a matter of uploading the local copies on October 1st. Plus there's always the accounting and the way past due taxes. I just haven't done my books in months. I don't want to know in detail just how bad the sales are. Ahh well. I'll do this entry, find some shots to catch me up with my memes and then see what I should get done today for SW.

I was thinking on the walk back after dropping Sara off that I've started to enjoy walking. I've always hated it and found it inefficient. Walking takes too long to get anywhere, and for the same amount of energy you could bike somewhere in a quarter of the time. But since I have no real choice but to walk everywhere right now, I'm finding some enjoyment in it. I won't walk for the hell of it, though. The very idea of walking to walk drives me nuts. I have to have a goal or something I'm walking to so I can enjoy it.

Our lack of a car seems to be such an issue all the time. It is for me at times when I realize just how much a pain in the ass it is not to have one. But most of the time we manage. We could manage the expense of one, but at various costs that we don't need to pay right now. Plus we'd only be buying one to make it easier to get groceries, go camping, other shopping and various running around that is monstrously insane without a car. All good reasons, yes, but are they worth the crazy costs of a vehicle that *isn't* needed daily?

Sara started her dance lessons yesterday. Not only is it scheduled right smack dab at our normal dinner hour; it's just that tiny bit too far to walk to. A 30-minute walk. So we take the bus there, but because of the change they made it ends *right* when the last bus before the schedule switches to each hour leaves. So we get out of her lesson and then have to wait an hour to catch a bus to take us a 30-minute walk away. Figure that one out. *sighs* It's a joke. We've been offered a ride home from one of the dance teachers on the days she's going home, and I really appreciate that, but I seem to have a stupid independent streak. I don't want to have to rely on a relative stranger for a ride each week. It feels both like we're taking advantage of her and that we're not managing to take care of ourselves. Gah, I don't know. I'll take the ride and offer gas money because she's helping us out and it's great and I'll deal, but I'm frustrated.

Doesn't help that the discussions between my ex-MIL and the teacher included the line "I spoke with Linda this morning and she would not find taking the bus on Thursday nights quite as awful this year as it was last year." Quite as awful. Like I'm some prima-donna that doesn't want to take the dirty bad bussy-wussy. No, It's a matter of not wanting to spend two and a half hours running around, fucking up a schedule that my daughter responds wonderfully to so I can take her to an hour lesson. It's inefficient use of our time, and I resent having my time spent for me.

I think part of it is a car-owner mentality. I was once one of those folks and I remember. An hour lesson would be a matter of 5 minutes there, drop her off, go do errands or even come home then go back, pick her up and 5 minutes later be home. Even if I were sitting there for the hour it would be a commitment of maybe an hour and 20 minutes. I would have no issue with that situation, I can't think of anyone who would. So the translation is if they don't have a problem, why should I? It's so easy to forget what it's like to not have that option.

When you're faced with 4 options to a situation like an 8:15 bus home. One is wait, stand outside for an hour in whatever random weather and get home 20 minutes after quiet time begins. Second is taking a cab. I did the math on that one and a cab once a week for the term would cost us more than the lessons. Yeah. Third is walk, it's only 30 minutes tops... in good weather. When the snow and the ice and the slush come it's not an option at 7:15pm. Finally there's getting a ride from some kind-hearted soul. Which is what we'll do. That and take a cab home when she's unavailable. Which in my experience usually ends up with a "So, why don't you just get a car?" conversation sooner or later.

And we will, sooner or later, but things keep coming up like my teeth or my physiotherapy (so I can walk, HAHAHAH!) or back to school or the vet and all of that is out of pocket, which is a whole other rant for another day because that's 30 minutes.