Gratitude Season

As we transition from spooky season and into the winter months, I thought it would be a good idea to post a quick blog entry before November slips away. I've been having thoughts but not having time to write about them.

Trust Your Training

One thought that came to mind was to trust the training plan. And when you can't perfectly adhere to the training plan for whatever reason, you can trust that you've done most of the work and that's going to be enough to get you through your goal race.

What happened is that we've been getting sick (with diarrhea), and that's one reason why I will not run. The rule of thumb that I use is if it is a runny nose or sore throat, it's okay to run. But if it's below the neck (vomiting or diarrhea), then you should rest until you feel better. 

I am okay with my body 🫠

Vs my body is amazing ‼️

I wanted to say my body is amazing, but I think the statement, "I am okay with my body" resonates more truthfully. I do appreciate my body and I am ready to be filmed while teaching. And I feel like my body looks fine in clothes. But this gratitude season, I would like to work on getting closer to believing the latter. 

After spending some time thinking about it, I probably have a warped body image because I work at a university, and the majority of people that I see are in their late teens or early 20s. If I were around just women my age, I would probably feel differently. Also, since I became a mom at an older age, most of the moms that I know are younger than me. I don't idolize youth, by any means. I am trying to lean into my sage middle-age.

What are happy tits? Where can I get some? I saw an ad for a band called The Happy Fits but my brain assumed it was happy tits. My sister identified my style of movement, "shuffle running," and hypothesized that maybe I run that way to minimize bounce because of my happy tits.

I think everyone has some part of their body that causes them to feel a certain kind of way. But let me tell you, your body is amazing. You're crushing it. And I'm so glad we're doing this together

Personal austerity: The term can also describe an individual or household living a more frugal and simple lifestyle due to financial hardship. As we move beyond this era. I am buying All the Things. It's nuts. I want to stop but the austerity I felt repressed some things and now I'm reacting to that by over-buying. Or am I?

Last bit of news is very bad news. Another cousin of mine has died while running. Hit by a car. Just like the last one. I don't know how to feel. 

no resolutions

This year... I just don't have the tools to do a year in review. I would source that out to AI.

Some useful tools I found are listentoyoutube

https://ww1.listentoyt.com/

Our year in review

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8CDELb7/

CicLAvia the Valley Feb 26, 2023. We biked to it down the Reseda protected bike lanes. Changed a flat tire. Drank champurrado. Albert napped on the bike. Couldn't make it all the way back home. But it was exciting.

Amtrak to Disneyland May 14, 2023. We took the car-free vacation of our dreams. Got on a bus going the wrong direction in 90 degree heat with sleeping babies. Our strollers kept tipping over and spilled our luggage in the street. An IKEA bag was a lifesaver. We got sick of the train on the way home because it struck and killed a person.

Trainfest and Universal Studios September 12, 2023. This was an epic transit and walking adventure. We did train + subway + bus.

CicLAvia mini NoHo September 17, 2023. This was the first CicLAvia we didn't bring bikes to. We walked with a stroller and ate some doughnuts.

Holiday Lights Ride December 17, 2023. We decorated our bikes with a new set of Wheel Brightz. Albert scooted the majority of the ride and we ended up with hot cocoa.

It's been a great year and we are so blessed to have our health, our home, safety and job security.

Pregnancy Part 29

New unfortunate pregnancy symptom: carpal tunnel syndrome. Boo hoo. It's really when I wake up from sleeping. I don't experience it as a numbness in my hand, but rather a pain in the joints of my fingers. Lately, in the last couple of days, I've been feeling it as a serious pain in my right wrist. It does feel better if I put ice on it, so that's the solution for now. I don't think it's from scrolling on my phone or holding the phone, because I haven't been really spending time on my phone for the past few days. I've been busy!

Diet

Week 36 - Feb 10-16 - 43% (six fast food)
Week 37 - Feb 17-23 - 69% (four fast food)
Week 38 - Feb 24-Mar 1 - 51% (three fast food)

Symptoms

Week 36 - Feb 10-16 - backache, tender breasts, BH contractions, increased thirst, morning sickness/nausea
Week 37 - Feb 17-23 - tender breasts, heartburn, pelvic discomfort and pressure, increased thirst, morning sickness/nausea
Week 38 - Feb 24-Mar 1 - increased appetite, heartburn, pelvic discomfort and pressure, tender breasts, nipple soreness, joint pain, BH contractions, increased thirst, headache

My parents were considering coming out for a weekend trip March 13-16, but between the cost of it and just how unlikely it would be for that to coincide with the baby's birth, they decided not to come out together. As a consequence, my mom just booked her flight to arrive on March 10th and depart March 18th. This increases her odds of being there for the birth. I'm surprised that she's willing to take so much time off work since it's usually a problem for her. I'm excited that she will be here because I know how excited she must be. Earlier on in pregnancy, I was pretty adamant that I didn't want my mom around during labor, but now that it's getting closer, I'm caring less about being in control and feeling more gratitude for any amount of help and experience that people can share with us.

One day, I forgot to take my prenatal vitamin and ended up getting a strong craving for cat food. Another day, I also forgot the vitamin and wanted fast food really badly. Don't know what it is about salty stuff that my body needs and usually gets from the multivitamin. Google suggests it's iron.

I got a headache that lasted for 6 hours. Ended up going in to the hospital to get checked out at 6 pm. On their monitors, my blood pressure was fine and they didn't find any protein in my urine. No excessive swelling in my extremities. Baby looked good on the monitor. So we were sent home with advice to take 650mg of Tylenol every 6 hours. After 3 doses, the headache finally went away. It felt like a migraine that I usually get around when my period starts. Maybe it was triggered by surging hormones. Or now that I think about it, progesterone levels seem to drop leading up to delivery, so maybe that's the trigger (and not high blood pressure). In any case, we bought a blood pressure cuff for $60 at Rite Aid. My OB suggested to take a reading twice daily and if the systolic is over 140 mmHg and/or the diastolic is over 90 mmHg, then that is cause for concern and we should go back to triage.

Pregnancy Part 14

This weekend we worked on our house tasks and took a day in LA. Last weekend, we did some shopping, then more shopping, then house tasks. What I mean by house tasks is furniture assembly and redistribution of items into the new furniture.

When we moved to our Northridge condo around 2.75 years ago, we agreed that we wouldn't buy any furniture or decorate until we had lived there for 1 year. After that time, we bought a few bookshelves, a pair of lamps and some end tables. Nothing too expensive, since we live across the street from the Goodwill. Maybe all together it cost $200 (or less). It doesn't look bad, in fact we were so overjoyed to have the extra space and white walls.

Now, we are preparing to babyproof the house, which means getting everything up off the floor and into containers that the baby can't get into. Hence the need for furniture. We bought two dressers at IKEA which have 6 drawers each. The space we were concerned about was a metal shelf that had everything exposed.

Xmas 2017 / New Year 2018

I don't know if you can tell, but the dry goods in the metal rack above are organized by plant family. Other items moved into the new dressers included: glassware, tablecloth, fabric napkins, dishrags, aprons. And my seed library!

View this post on Instagram

How do you organize your #seedlibrary ?

A post shared by Kayla Kaiser (@hamerk02) on Mar 11, 2018 at 7:24pm PDT

The day in LA was fun and we did a lot of walking. Seeing the Walk of Fame is always an eventful day. We saw a movie at the Cinedome (56 years old) on Sunset and Vine, which is now called the ArcLight Hollywood. We ate lunch at Miceli's (a 70-year institution on Hollywood Blvd). I did wear my BellyBandit belt for a few hours in the morning, but I took it off at lunch. It was fun showing my in-laws how to ride the subway (Metro) red line.

I wish I had time to write more, but tonight we have a doctor's appointment and then Bradley birth class and then I am DETERMINED to get to the grocery store and get re-stocked. We've been eating out quite a bit since devoting our weekends to "home tasks" instead of grocery shopping and cooking.

Pregnancy Part 9

This is week 17. I feel like my belly is really stretching out. Mike says next week my belly button will pop out. I feel like my breasts have taken on a life of their own, they are large and veiny.

  

How I feel now is nervous about the upcoming scans. This month we have lots of appointments. Next week is the 18 week ultrasound with our OB, Dr. Marr. I believe she will be taking samples for the second trimester screening. In three weeks we have our 20 week anatomy scan with the MFM, Dr. Incerpi. Four weeks from now we go in for a fetal echocardiogram at 21 weeks, Dr. Nancy Kim. Until proven otherwise, this is a normal pregnancy. The docs are just being cautious.

I got a call from the Department of Public Health yesterday, they say the doctor needs to send them our insurance information to do the billing for the first trimester screening tests. I am definitely handling medical stuff, including billing and insurance, much better than before. It's all just business and something that has to be done. I don't really get as upset and worked-up as I did before. I called my doctor's office and they said that it was really strange. If DPH didn't give me a fax number then there's nothing they can do. I guess I will just try to deal with it at our appointment next week.

A colleague at work said, "pregnancy suits you." I'm not sure exactly what she meant by that, but I can agree. I don't feel absolutely terrible like some people have told me horror stories of pregnancy. I feel calm, for the most part. My husband spoils me. He gives me so much attention and I only really notice how much when he can't be there for me. Last night I had a bit of a sob-fest over just feeling alone when I used to LOVE being at school late by myself and walking/biking home in the dark.

Dear husband was out last night at the City of Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee. I'm really proud of him for doing that work, but it was hard getting myself home all alone. He was also having a meeting with the Community Advisory Group for the Aliso Canyon SoCal Gas blowout Department of Public Health study. I used to be involved in a lot of advocacy and activism, but with this pregnancy, it's just important to rest and keep up with the work I am being paid for.

There is a CicLAvia this weekend but we won't be going. Instead, we will be doing outreach at the Granada Hills Street Faire. I get it. Local is better. Now that we're living "deep in the valley," we don't get out to downtown LA as much as when we lived in Glendale. The following day there is the Encino Family Festival, which is on Ventura Blvd. I guess we could check it out just to get out of the house. Unfortunately, by Sunday it is supposed to be in the mid-90s so maybe we will just stay home in the air conditioning.

Victory for Safe Streets

I could do with a longer holiday break. If I had to go back to work next week, I could. But I don't want to. Luckily, there are still two more weeks.

The problem is that there were a litany of action items that I wanted to work on over the break. Maybe it would be helpful to write out an exhaustive list below:

clean the closets
clean the garage
create some paintings
do some sewing
tie-dye some fabric
go for walks/bike rides
go swimming
lift weights @ home
lift weights @ gym
do some sit-ups
dance @ the disco
rollerskate
hang out with friends
hang out with family
shop for a new laptop
plan for classes
write reflective reports
write a scientific paper
write poster for a meeting

Some of this we did. Some of this will not get done. With only two weeks left, I have to be strategic.

Yesterday, we went to a meeting of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils where a few people had tried to pass a motion with the following text

Meeting of 12/01/18 WHEREAS, after two and a half years it is clear that traffic calming modifications to highways, roads, and streets within the City of Los Angeles, as being imposed under the city’s Vision Zero initiative, are public safety hazards, WHEREAS, such traffic calming measures include, but are not limited to, “road diets,” which involve narrowing roadways, replacing traffic lanes with bicycle lanes, and installing physical barriers, WHEREAS, these traffic calming measures pose a litany of safety, health, and environmental hazards, including but not limited to: Violations of state, county, and municipal fire codes as well as California case law, including but not limited to: Sections 503.4 & 503.4.1 of the California Fire Code; Section 21101 of the California Vehicle Code; Sections 503.4 & 503.4.1 of the Los Angeles County Health and Safety Code; Sections 57.503 of the Los Angeles Code of Ordinances; and City of Hawaiian Gardens v. City of Long Beach (2d Dist. 1998) 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 134. Increased emergency response times as a result of impeded fire apparatus access roads; Dangerously narrowed emergency evacuation routes; Increased emissions due to cars idling and stopping-and-starting; Increased pedestrian fatalities and overall accidents, according to the city’s own statistics and available California Highway Patrol data; and Violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the LANCC demands that the city enforce the laws and within 30 days of our demand to start the process to remove all traffic calming measures, including but, not limited to road diets, from: Current and former state highways; Designated emergency evacuation routes; Thoroughfares that qualify as “regionally significant streets or highways”; All thoroughfares that have seen an increase in accidents since July 2015; and All thoroughfares with two or more lanes of travel in both directions. with a presentation by Chris LeGras, Keep LA Moving

Thanks to the efforts which I suspect went on behind the scenes the language that was officially adopted is the following:

Meeting of 01/05/19 The Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition (LANCC) (XXXXXX Neighborhood Council) takes the position that there shall be no blanket prohibition of road diets or other road calming measures. Communities that will be impacted with a potential road diet or other road calming measure, including neighborhood councils, shall be consulted extensively about public safety and other important issues both before the road diet is proposed and after it is implemented. where a presentation by Aneesa Andrabi and Wajenda Chambeshi, Great Streets did not happen

I'm not saying that it was any action on my part that precipitated this shift, but I'm super happy about it. A few observations from the meeting are that there was:

lack of engagement (only 15 votes from 96 councils) 

lack of representation (few women and people of color in the room)

lack of information (people struggled to define the terms "equity" “road diet" and "traffic calming")
That's like saying the opinion of 3 people represents the opinion of 20 people. I think it's particularly pathetic that a group of old white men thought that they could remove and prevent future safety infrastructure. The majority of traffic deaths are happening in neighborhoods of color.

3. Here they are overlaid on one another: the overwhelming majority of pedestrian deaths are taking place in formerly redlined neighborhoods. pic.twitter.com/4merNp8DII

— LA Bike Dad (@LA_Bike_Dad) January 4, 2019

This is definitely something to consider.

7. Are our actions going to show that we value those lives more than we did in past? @bikinginla @lacbc @LosAngelesWalks @laura_nelson @StreetsblogLA @LADOTofficial @VisionZeroLA @gilcedillocd1 @KeepRowenaSafe

— LA Bike Dad (@LA_Bike_Dad) January 4, 2019

September to Remember

I am running a bit tired today and I thought... what could cheer me up? So I came to write a quick blog post about September and thought of this song~~~~


I really need to go rollerskating. I miss my rollerdiscoboogielife.

Since school has started, I've been reading "Becoming Nicole" and I was really looking forward to attending the "New Student Convocation" because Nicole Maines was the keynote speaker.

The event was slightly ruined by a group protesting EO1100. There are reasons why the CSU is having difficulty graduating 100% of incoming students. Some people believe that our students are taking unnecessary courses. Some of those courses include remedial math and remedial writing classes. Some of those courses include Africana studies, American Indian studies, Asian-American studies, Central American studies and gender and women’s studies. The instructors who teach those courses would see their enrollment drop (and job cuts) if students are no longer required to take those courses.

I'm sad that people don't graduate. I'm sad that Nicole's keynote was overshadowed by a group of angry people. I'm sad that students are coming to a university that is not able to eliminate opportunity and achievement gaps. I'm sad that people are going to be losing their part-time teaching jobs. It's a complicated issue.

EO1110 retires the placement tests in math and English, instead focusing on offering non-remedial courses only. Our department is filling our classes to the fire code limit to balance the budget because our department gets a certain amount of money per enrolled student, but... How does a packed and uncomfortable classroom support student retention and success? Sometimes I feel like the CSU-level initiatives and what our department does are in direct conflict.

Someone mentioned that their son is studying GIS. I got jealous. I have to get ready for class now. I'm trying lots of new ways to use technology in the classroom. I can't say if any of it is working yet.

45th Assembly Candidate Forum

CSUN Office of Government Relations in partnership with League of Women Voters hosted the 45th Assembly District Candidate Forum, Sat. 3/3/18, Orange Grove Bistro.


From Left to Right in the above photo:

Ray Bishop - vietnam vet, no special interest $
Daniel Brin - west hills neighborhood council
Justin Clark - government accountability
Jesse Gabriel - lawer, politician, transpo, enviro
Tricia Robbins Kasson - valley d'town, transpo
Ankur Patel - #metoo campaign ally

April 3rd special primary election http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/2018-ad45/

Register to vote in person or online by March 19th

Questions from the moderators...

Homelessness?
RB - veterans, not for profit
DB - winnetka facility, rent control, new infill
JC - motel conversions, transit corridor
JG - meas H, city HHH, build it, tax cred, supply
TRK - mental health, subs abuse, obamacare
AP - coordinators at the local level, deliver

Cochran - Reseda neighborhood council president
She is a write-in candidate

Gun control?
AP - stop movement of guns across borders
TRK - gun buybacks, longer wait, health srvc
JG - prop 63, ban assult weapons in CA
JC - train & fund schools to prepare for shooting
DB - limit ammo, raise age to 21, address bullies
RB - weapons of war should not go to regular people

MeToo movement?
RB - prosecute aggressors
DB - pass ERA, protect all gender identities
JC - power dynamic, politicians not above law
JG - new people in Sac, protect victims
TRK - all women have more than one story
AP - get to K-12 ed, rape is a tool of war

Economic development?
AP - health care, enviro, transit, pay teachers
TRK - empowerment zones, vocational programs
JG - extend film tax credit, affordable higher ed
JC - small businesses, no lifelong student debt
DB - living wages, unions, empower workers
RB - small business advocate

Gas tax: senate bill 1
RB - get away from fossil fuel, clean our mess
DB - no bullet train, drives a volt, has solar panels on his house 
JC - 12 cent raised, with little action
JG - competitiveness, $ from washington
TRK - shift to clean renewable energy
AP - electrify orange line, tax vehicles/axels

What do u about the 45th?
AP - educ opportunities, diversity
TRK - beauty, big trees, mtns
JG - family-friendly
JC - kind caring protective people
DB - hiker / cyclist, plants acorns
RB - equity, cooperation

Audience questions...

How are you different / unique?
RB - experience and service, ch of commerce
DB - manages fb group, keeps it civil, open
JC - not a speed bump, an accelerator
JG - listen, advocate, represent fairly, represent
TRK - giving back, local govt, Bloomenfield
AP - people-powered, horizontal thinker

What issue would you risk your campaign on?
AP - single payer health care
TRK - housing = 10 yr problem, impacts transp
JG - climate change
JC - govt accountability / transparency
DB - enviro, clean air, w/out that whats da point
RB - nothing

Santuary?
RB - deportation is inhumane & undignified
DB - there should b a pathwy to citizenship
JC - does not support
JG - represents them in court
TRK - it makes us safer, crime reporting
AP - hire immigration application processors

Charter schools?
AP - does not support, will not shut down good
TRK - free ed, they're good for competition
JG - nonissue, more $ support for public ed
JC - supports family choices, special needs
DB - protect teacher's pensions, incr teacher pay
RB - high tech ed, free college, admin pay ⬇

Health care
RB - Berniecrat
DB - system is overly complicated
JC - privatize, deregulate, reform
JG - human right, universal, affordable, quality
TRK - prepaid instead of pay after a disaster
AP - focus on providing care, not profit

Closing remarks
RB - experience counts, stand by your decision
DB - experience, civil discourse among differen
JC - real reform, no prehistory, clean slate
JG - new ideas, dem supermajority, blue CA
TRK - tenacity / persistence, community
AP - get involved, you are not alone, humble




The Kaisers in CSUN's Orange Grove

celebrating 10 years of marriage this month.

eLearning

I can't believe that soooo much time has passed since my last post. What went down was the eLearning Institute in July and then August...

#eclipse #nebraska

A post shared by Kayla Kaiser (@hamerk02) on Aug 21, 2017 at 4:24pm PDT

Last weekend, I ended up clearing off the kitchen table and doing 7 loads of laundry, some of which went back to the impromptu drive to Nebraska to view the eclipse in its totality.

Photos of the eclipse don't really do it justice.  I made a painting that expressed more of what it felt like to actually be there and experience it in person.

Eclipse, baby!

It felt like the arms of the sun were reaching down and hugging me.  I'm on Earth standing down at the bottom of the rainbow.  In awe.

I painted that at the Reseda Blvd Summer Series... which came right after the eclipse.

It was a challenge to load those cube parts into the panniers of my mountain bike and ride it down there, then put it together in triple-digit heat. But after the sun went down, and my lights came on, things really got cool!  I didn't sell any of my artwork, but I did create 3 new pieces, so it was definitely a good event.  I really enjoyed the live music and all the positive energy from people walking by.  Other artists were inspired by my cubicle.

Green mandala

Climate change

We saw a couple of movies: An Inconvenient Sequel, which probably influenced the painting above.

'All Saints' was about a church community coming together, turning the land around their building into a profitable farm. Very apropos considering I'm getting involved with the Seed Library of Los Angeles and raising a new generation from seed.

Rosa Bianca eggplant

Zucchini grey

These aren't pictures from my garden, but those are seeds I borrowed from the SLOLA and have actually germinated.  They're in the nursery right now awaiting transplantation outdoors.

During the eLearning Institute, in July, I made the following "welcome video" for CHEM 100, then found out I was not only NOT teaching that class, but I was also moving my office.  So I guess the video can serve as a historical recording of what I was thinking and feeling in July in regards to where I thought I would be in September.  But where I'm at in September turns out to be pretty far away from where I thought I would be.  But I'm improving at letting go of my expectations and serving in whatever capacity I can.

I'm grateful to be part of a community of teachers and learners at CSUN and Pasadena City College. I'm working pretty hard this semester.  I just submitted our eLearning Project Prospectus, so I'm feeling some sense of closure on that commitment.  Monday, I'll be going into two other professors' classrooms to introduce our eLearning Project and ask for their participation (since I'm not teaching CHEM 100 this semester).  This will continue all semester and then we'll look at the data.

I'm teaching "SCI 100: Science for Life" as part of a cohort of professors. We had a great meeting yesterday to discuss commonalities among our courses and ways that we can emphasize what each other are teaching. I'm honored to be a part of this group of teachers and administrators who are focused on student success for first-generation college students that are a part of the Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP).

I'm making "Problem-Based Learning" (PBL) modules for my students at PCC based on conversations with Katie Rodriguez (Natural Sciences) and faculty from Dental Hygiene, Nursing, Physiology, Anatomy, and Nutrition. It's exhausting writing so much new content, but I do believe that students will benefit from the connections made between the course content and applications in their intended careers.

I had a great time connecting with faculty at the California Community College Success Network (3CSN) event "Creating Equitable Learning Environments through Growth Mindset & Interdisciplinary Apprenticeship." I learned about unstuffing the curriculum to create space for meaningful student growth. We discussed encouraging resilience in math teaching through offering assignment revisions.  Using this approach at Fullerton College, the percentage of students who submitted assignments increased from 20% to 80%.

WHY BE AN ORDINARY PROFESSOR WHEN YOU CAN BE EXTRAORDINARY? WHAT'S STOPPING YOU?

My mantra for this semester. eLearning = extraordinary learning.

Metro Bikeshare arrives in Pasadena

I have to write about my experience with Metro's bikeshare. I was totally pumped to try out the new docking station right in front of Pasadena City College, since I'll be teaching there again in the fall.  Here's what happened...

(1) I bought a 1 month pass online using a TAP card I already had.  A day later, I saw all the codes for one month free and felt like an idiot for paying.  ooops!

(2) It was easy to walk up to the kiosk, which sent a code to my phone, and borrow a bike.

(3) The bike was so heavy, the first thing I did was drop it.  ooops!

(4) I didn't realize the front basket was hinged.  It looked REALLY small and my bookbag didn't fit and I thought "Why did they equip these with such a pathetically small basket?"  Only upon returning the bike did I realize that I could've expanded the basket and fit my entire bag in there.  ooops!

(5) After I started pedaling, I had to stop twice to adjust the seat height.  I ended up leaving it at a 7, even though that was a wee bit too high for me.  The bike was SLOW and I wanted as much leverage as I could get. And I stopped in the middle of Del Mar Blvd to adjust the seat.  ooops!

(6) Then I realized that I had no idea where I was going.  I had no plan.  I didn't know where the bicycle network was.  I was rolling on a bike that wasn't mine through city streets with moving traffic and the bike was SLOW, did I mention that?  I wasn't lost, it just wasn't easy to locate preferred bicycle routes so I made a loop on streets with no bicycle infrastructure.  ooops!

HERE is where you can find/return Metro Bikeshare bikes

(7) Along Del Mar Blvd, some cars/trucks/vans didn't want to give me 3 feet.  Scary!  And even more scary to be on an unfamiliar and SLOW bike.  It's really hard to keep up with the speed of traffic.  Honestly I felt the safest on Walnut when I was taking the lane.  I guess it's OK that the bike is slow since I wasn't wearing a helmet, but a car could still have hit me going fast and I could have died.  ooops!

(8) Before arriving to Bikeshare, I read "Generally speaking, there are relatively few bike lanes on the busy arterial streets in Pasadena but there are some pretty mellow residential streets that are great for riding. If using Google Maps to navigate, you may enjoy taking a route that is a little longer but uses quieter residential streets." So I took one. But El Molino was as terrifying or possibly more so than the arterial because there was not enough space for cars to pass safely.   ooops!

(9) I was looking for stations to return the bike, but I didn't see any until I was back where I started. https://bikeshare.metro.net/stations/  Maybe a person has to get used to the network and where the stations are, and this familiarity will come with time, but I couldn't return that bike soon enough.  I was looking everywhere for a docking station.   ooops!

@bikemetro #Pasadena not smiling because this was a terrifying experience. Video to follow.

A post shared by bikecar101 (@bikecar101) on Jul 14, 2017 at 5:03pm PDT

(10) I'm confused... As for some ideas about how to use Metro Bike in Pasadena and where to ride: •Gold Line Allen Station to Pasadena City College — If you don’t want to ride on busy Allen, take the bike lane on Maple to Sierra Bonita to campus.
I don't see a bikeshare station at Gold Line/Allen, but I do see one at Gold Line/Lake.   ooops!

I'm not saying you should't try Metro Bikeshare for yourself... definitely try it.  But I do feel like Bikeshare is better suited to a bike path (Waterfront), like down by the beach.  When you don't have the infrastructure on your streets, it's just unsafe.  Maybe the map on The Source's website could be somehow attached to the bicycle or posted on the kiosk so that people can more easily locate a safe bike route.

It's kind of crazy to me that Metro is suggesting you use Google Maps to navigate when there's no place to put your phone.  Maybe if the bike had a built-in smartphone cradle, that would make sense.  It's hard enough to manage navigating an unfamiliar bike in an unfamiliar place.  Add to that navigating from a phone that you have to hold in your hand... that's a recipe for an accident.

Since I have a month pass, I'll try it again (maybe Downtown LA).  What I've been saying since the beginning of Bikeshare's launch is that it's safer to take your own bike.  It's cheaper too.  $20 x 5 will get you your own bike.  $20 x 30 will get you a pretty good bike.  I find it hard to see how bikeshare fills a gaping hole in the transit network.  And I fear that when/if Metro offers bikeshare ubiquitously they will try to ban bikes on trains.

Bold and Sassy

Dear Students,

Stop trying to be nice.  "Nice" doesn't ensure you understand the material.  "Polite" means that you don't interrupt the professor when you need more help to understand what we're talking about.  "Gentle" means that you shy away from contributing to the group in discussion.  "Kind" means letting everyone else speak first, and then feeling relieved when the class time is up and you haven't had to say anything.  Being a "good listener" isn't the same as synthesizing your own concept and communicating it to others; one is passive and the other is active.

When I'm tough on you, I expect you to be tough on me right back.  By pushing each other to be better than we were before, we can both improve ourselves.  If we both sit back (at rest) and shrink away from opportunities for personal growth (goal-setting and taking on new challenges) then we run the risk of slipping further into ignorance and decay.

An expert in the field of research on shyness, Bernardo J. Carducci, writes about stereotypes of masculine and feminine traits in his college-level textbook The Psychology of Personality: Viewpoints, Research, and Applications.  I see both men and women in my courses being too shy to "bother" me with questions.  I felt that way many times, too.  When I was a student, I didn't go to the professor's office hours because I knew that professors are "busy" people and I didn't think they had time to help me with my learning.

I have noticed that shyness tends to be more pronounced in women, but it is also associated with cultural norms that are independent of gender.  Carducci explains Social-Cognitive Theory: that identity occurs through the process of a child observing what others are doing, receiving instructions from others regarding what is appropriate behavior, receiving reinforcement when such behavior is performed, and learning to self-regulate the expression of appropriate behavior in order to receive such reinforcement (p. 507).

I say -- TO HELL WITH THAT!  You gotta break the mold.  Rise to the occasion of being evaluated. Stop being "modest" and get focused on ACHIEVEMENT.  Think positively.  Aim high.  Know your worth.  Know that you are capable of achieving anything you seriously and wholeheartedly put your mind to.  Even if nobody you know has done it.  There's a first time for everything.  

Research shows that cultural factors account for gender differences in career advancement, leading to what is called the "paradox of achievement." Although women score higher in verbal ability, most critically acclaimed writers are men.  Those women writers who become well-known are unmarried, childless, and well-to-do... meaning that they focus all their attention on becoming better writers rather than falling prey to societal expectations of motherhood and caregiving. 

As for mathematical ability, males are treated differently in school.  Teachers encourage men's abilities and interest in mathematics.  The same could be said for racial and ethnic groups. Prevailing viewpoints (stereotypes) held by teachers that one group has more or less potential than another is going to hurt the group that is thought of as having less innate ability.  This is unfair.  THERE ARE NO GENDER (OR ETHNIC) DIFFERENCES ON MEASURES OF GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. We all have equal potential.  AND I would add that it's not too late to start changing YOUR behavior right now.  Your future success will be the positive reinforcement you need to continue personal growth in a new direction.

Consider selecting a few traits from the "Masculine" column of Table 12.2 (above).  

• Aggressive
• Competitive
• Decisive
• Independent
• Never gives up
• Nonconforming
• Stands up to pressure
• Tough/Coarse

Try it on for a week.  "ACT AS IF THAT IS YOU" until you master the behavior so that it becomes second nature.  Forget trying to be "nice" and GET CRITICAL. (Braxton, John M. Influences on College Student Learning: Special Issue of Peabody Journal of Education, 2003) You're not going to get happy faces drawn on all your papers, nor should you.  If everything were perfect and you already knew the material, you wouldn't be in a university.  You need to shatter your world-view in order to transform yourself. It's a metamorphosis. The meek and mild earth-bound caterpillar must give way to a fierce and beautiful soaring butterfly.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kaiser

Vision Zero

Last month, I attended a ceremony where a ghost bike was placed for a man killed while bicycling home from his job.  That man was killed by a hit-and-run automobile driver.

I do my best to avoid calling cars "death machines" as I bike around town, but some days are tougher than others.  When someone actually dies at the hands of a motorist, in the area where I've just moved to, it shakes me up.

I am calling this an act of terrorism defined as: unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

Militant motorists want to keep the streets purely for vehicles, with unrestricted flow, at high speed. There are groups of residents who exert political pressure on city council to maintain this agenda.

The man killed in Winnetka is said to have been the victim of a purposeful crime.  A truck swerved in order to hit the man on his bicycle.  Has the criminal been found?  Yes.  But what will be the consequences?  What value will be placed on the human life that was ended?

Victims of terrorism tend to want to do something.  Feelings such as shock, outrage, sadness, rage, depression, and anger are normal.  At the placement of the ghost bike, we were directed to pray for the 2nd man who was in critical condition at a local hospital.  This did give me something (peaceful) to do.  Has the second man recovered?  What were the extent of his injuries?  Will the motorist be financially liable for the hospital bills of this man?

Of cyclists, I am of the populist vehicular variety. At a recent community meeting where a "road diet" was presented, a resident of my city suggested that if I were cycling in the street, he may just "tap" me with his truck to let me know that he's there.  He asked me what I'd do.  I told him that I would turn over GoPro footage of the incident to the police.  He asked if I've ever done that before.  I said, "not yet."

I feel like some motorists are engaging in intentional intimidation in an effort to reduce the number of people who will ride their bicycles on city streets in a vehicular manner.

While I agree with John Forester, that creating off-street bike paths reduces the visibility of cyclists and therefore does nothing to bridge the bikes vs. cars debate, if you want to see more miles of bike paths, consider signing this petition to support a feasibility study for the Verdugo Wash.  If you prefer to sign in person, come visit me at CicLAvia ~ Glendale Meets Atwater.  I'll be at the Walk Bike Glendale / LACBC / Bikecar101 booth at the Central Hub from 1-3pm.

I don't think the idea of Vision Zero is to actually reduce the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed by automobiles to zero, but to invest in infrastructure improvements that would continue to make the streets safer for the most "vulnerable road users."  I actually don't like that term, but it's true.  When I don't have 2000 lbs of steel and airbags surrounding me, I am literally more vulnerable!  Maybe I don't like the term because I have to believe I will survive out there in order to continue the vehicular cycling behavior I enjoy.  I don't like to think about how vulnerable I am out there.

One thing I got out of the ghost bike placement is that we acknowledged that "that could have been me."  Or any number of other people I know and love that engage in vehicular cycling.

My personal reaction to my fear (generated from the man killed while cycling on Winnetka) was to put on more blinky lights than usual and bike to the ceremony.  My husband thought I was being crazy, but if you let your fear prevent you from vehicular cycling then the terrorists win.

https://www.wired.com/2014/11/9-things-drivers-need-stop-saying-bikes-vs-cars-debate/

http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/real-talk-bikes-cant-reduce-congestion-without-bike-lanes

Putting up a sign that says "bike route" on a road without any cycling infrastructure doesn't make it a bike route. Nice try, though. pic.twitter.com/0XCjcOHMra

— Robin Mazumder (@RobinMazumder) June 5, 2017

in-service

The last few weeks have been busy! I'm feeling like I've reached the slide into finals week. Or maybe I'm still in push towards finals week. Either way April has been blossoming with activity. I'll be participating in a summer eLearning institute to address achievement gaps in CHEM 100, so I've been gearing up for that. On a related note, this upcoming week, I'm having training on TopHat.

Love being a part of #VARJAM Demonstration Showcase at #CSUN @CSUNVAR https://t.co/LekDO9ZwHA @csunportfolium I ❤ all the student work!

— Kayla A. Kaiser (@hamerk02) April 7, 2017

https://t.co/J4FK1QKXRV

— Kayla A. Kaiser (@hamerk02) April 7, 2017

#CSUN students generate 400 Watts with a 🚲 @csunas Earth Fair 2017 #science #earthday #energy #conservation #awareness #work #stem #maker pic.twitter.com/YibD3BDEGf

— bikecar101 (@bikecar101) April 14, 2017

Preserving apples, measuring starch in foods, layering liquids by density, making seed bombs @ACSUndergrad #EarthDay https://t.co/DFnpsiZlPa pic.twitter.com/xiS5LUPGcV

— CSUN ChemClub (@CSUNchemclub) April 21, 2017

#sciencemarch #resist #EarthDay #mydayinla

A post shared by Kayla Kaiser (@hamerk02) on Apr 22, 2017 at 12:56pm PDT

MultiModal Weekend (Part III)

Having taken a bike on Friday afternoon, a car on Friday night, and a walk to the bus on Saturday (both ways), we knew we had to take a train on Sunday.  Luckily, it was a CicLAvia (open street) weekend in Downtown LA and we got to ride bicycles from Glendale to MacArthur Park with an awesome group of people.

Since we had spent the majority of the weekend talking about bike advocacy, we cut our CicLAvia experience short and caught the early train back to Glendale.

The nice thing about catching Metrolink is that it is a short 10-12 minute train ride back to Glendale and then a 10-12 minute bike ride back to our house.

Metrolink monthly pass holders (like us) can ride the train system (bus and light rail, too) for free on weekends.  Non-monthly pass holders have access to the entire system by purchasing a $10 weekend pass.  There is now an app that you can use to purchase your Metrolink pass virtually, in case your trip starts with a bus instead of starting at the Metrolink station (like we did). Screenshots from the Metrolink app are shown side-by-side below.

Remember, your bus pass will not get you on the light rail.  Nor will your light rail pass get you onto the Metrolink train.  But a Metrolink ticket will get you on the bus and light rail.

Last, but not least, if you're going for a short trip, your one-way ticket on Metrolink will be cheaper than a Day Pass.  But if you're traveling a long way (Lancaster to LA Union Station, which costs $11.50 one way) then the Day Pass will be cheaper even if you're not returning on that day to your original destination.  The app makes it easier to comparison shop on your own schedule, without having to mess around with the ticket vending machine (TVM) at the actual train depot.

There is an agreement between Amtrak and the Glendale Beeline and several other bus providers for free transfers, but LA Metro buses only offer a discount to Amtrak passengers, according to Fox 5 News San Diego. If you do take Amtrak, you must call and make a bike reservation (800-USA-RAIL).  Roll-on service is possible on the Pacific Surfliner AND the Coast Starlight.  I guess Amtrak also has a mobile app, but I don't have experience with it yet.

Also, I learned that a Metro TAP card is how you use Metro Bike Share, but I haven't tried it myself yet. Have you?

MultiModal Weekend (Part II)

On Saturday, October 15th we took Metro Bus 94 from Glendale to Downtown LA.  It was totally liberating to travel without a car or bicycle.  It was also totally convenient since we live 0.3 miles from the San Fernando / California bus stop, and the training we were going to is 0.2 miles from the Hill St / 6th bus stop.

Of course, we wouldn't have had to leave our bikes at home to take the bus... you can always put your bike on a bus.  Also we learned that Metro has purchased enough 3-bike racks for all their buses, but they won't replace a bike rack on a bus until the old one breaks!

When people complain that Glendale isn't well served by public transit, I have to laugh because that just isn't true.  They'll say, well I have to drive because it isn't convenient for me to get to a bus stop. Or something about their schedule being not so flexible.  We left our house an hour before the event we were trying to get to, waited at the bus stop for over 10 minutes and still arrived at our destination 20 minutes early.  

Taking transit gives you the freedom to allow yourself extra time.  Therefore you arrive at your destination less stressed.  We were the first to arrive at the training we were going to.  We had time to get a cup of coffee and relax before the meeting got underway.  It's a good thing we were there early so that we were there to greet the other attendees who were worried about being in the wrong place. We didn't have to pay for parking or remember where we had left our car.

An interesting thing we learned was that 80% of people in Los Angeles county live within biking distance of Metro Rail or fixed-guideway bus service like the Orange Line.  I learned this fact from downloading the podcasts of KPFK Bike Talk.  If you haven't listened to it, it's a great way to feel like less of a bike nut.  Another thing I learned from Bike Talk is that when someone in a car makes you angry (or almost runs you over), the best thing to do is wave at them with all 5 fingers.  It sounds simple, but really just hearing someone else tell me to do that goes through my mind when I really want to wave only 1 finger.

When Metro holds an open house workshop, it's important that community members participate because many of the city planning professionals don't bike, take transit, or walk.  For example, we recently attended a Walkabout in our community.  The planners that are writing the Community Plan asked the people who actually live in the community to come out and let them know what needs fixing in their neighborhood.  

Unfortunately turnout was low and it was mostly people from outside our neighborhood who were making the observations.  The planners are objective, but they don't have the perspective of how those streets actually work on a day-to-day basis because they don't live here.  Maybe a Saturday observation is nothing like a Monday-Friday observation. A morning observation is not reflective of how that street flows in the evenings.

My apologies for the tangent... back to the 94 bus.  It was great.  We've taken it from our house before, but going in the opposite direction.  When we've left our car at the Downtown Burbank Metrolink station, we can take this bus (stop Olive / San Fernando) walk over the I-5 freeway on a bridge, then take an elevator down to the train platform. We have also taken it to see a movie at AMC Burbank 16.  

This MultiModal weekend showed us that we can take the 94 bus to access Angel's Flight, Metro Bike Share, the Jewelry District, and Chinatown.  At Pershing Square, it's also possible to access the Metro Red or Purple lines (below-ground light rail, a.k.a. subway). It would also be possible to access the Mission San Fernando on the 94 bus, if you don't mind a 1.8 mile walk.  It could also get you to the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink station (which actually runs on the weekend) to Newhall, Palmdale, and Lancaster.

Transit really works wonderfully when different modes have points of contact or intersections. Sometimes I think people are simply unaware of how to make those connections.  For example, those city planners I mentioned gave us a token to take the bus and the bus driver said, "we don't accept those tokens anymore." Again, those who are making transit planning decisions don't even take transit enough to know how it works and how it has evolved.

We (my dear husband) and I were at odds with how to get to downtown LA.  I insisted (for Friday night at least) on biking, while he insisted on driving.  What we found using Google Maps is that Google suggested that the bus was actually the best way at 5:00pm on a Friday.  After driving, dear husband acquiesced the next day and agreed to ride the bus.  We both enjoyed the trip.  

The NextBus app has really changed our lives and our confidence and security with taking transit. If you allow the app to use your phone's location, it will tell you the nearest bus stops and routes on the "Nearby" tab. For visual people, you can click on the "Map" tab and get the same information.  For more sophistocated users, click on the "Transit" tab and define what Authority (e.g. Los Angeles Metro) and the stop number (if you're not using the location from your phone) or route (if you already know what bus number you want to take).  Tell it which direction you're going and it will tell you the length of time until your next bus arrives.  

Then if you click on a little folding-map icon with a location droplet on it, it shows you exactly where all the buses on that route are currently located.  So cool!  The last feature is most useful if you're walking to the stop but aren't there yet or you're in a meeting but haven't left yet and want to define which route you'll be taking to get home even if that route doesn't have a stop that is the closest to your current location.  With a smart phone in hand, you can actually free yourself from having to drive your car.

Research has shown that apps like NextBus can reduce uncertainty in wait times, which makes taking transit more competitive with driving your car. For your next visit to Downtown LA, consider taking a bus!

MultiModal Weekend (Part I)

The weekend of October 14-16th was a big experiment for me.  I used bike, bus, car and train to get around LA County.  I have been wanting to write about the experience and compare each way of getting to and from downtown Los Angeles for a resident of Glendale.

https://www.strava.com/activities/744729565

Friday, October 14th, after work I left California State University, Northridge around 2pm.  I rode along the Orange Line Busway Bike Path.  I rarely ride at this time, but there were lots of school-age teenagers walking on the sidewalks of Reseda and Van Nuys.  I got a little bored in NoHo, but that's normal.  It's not that fun riding in the bike lane along Chandler Blvd, especially when there aren't any other cyclists out there to chase.  After cutting down Keystone, I took an unplanned left turn on Alameda, which had a pretty nice bike lane (that I'm not seeing on Google Maps).  The video below shows it at 53 seconds in.

I went down Victory Blvd to a little side street called Ruberta, which used to have a cool "Halloween House" but now it doesn't.  I refilled my water bottles in the drinking fountain at the Glendale Narrows, then rode/pushed/carried my bike across the Bette Davis Picnic Area (Cyclocross training) and up to Riverside Dr to gawk at the closure of the Los Angeles River Path.  

The Army Corps of Engineers will be hosting a public meeting on Monday, November 7th, from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Friendship Auditorium by Griffith Park (3201 Riverside Drive) and LACBC encourages all to attend and speak up.

All that being said, I took the detour through Griffith Park and entered the bike path by the dog park. I exited the path at Fletcher and took the route through Silver Lake and along Sunset Blvd to reach Spring St. I don't know why other people don't like going that way. It was also the first time I really didn't need a route sheet. That's what I love about CicLAvia, it makes me understand how to reach downtown LA without a car.

Raw crunchy four kale mix, shredded cabbage, apples, shredded carrots and avocado, grape tomato, tossed w/ maple orange dressing, topped w/ currants, hemp seeds & creamy hummus dressing drizzle 

http://thelacafe.com/salads.html

After reaching LACBC headquarters, I had dinner at the LA Cafe.  I don't know if it was the 2 hours and 40 minutes I'd just spent winding my way gradually from The Valley to Downtown LA, or if the salad was REALLY GREAT but I haven't had a better meal in years.  There were picnic tables in a parklet, a couple of nice bike racks to lock up.  It was the ideal way to wind down from my ride and take in a street view of the city.

Now I'm off to make the City of Glendale more walkable.  I'll have to finish this post in a multi-part series.