Stupid people ruin everything

So as some of you may know, I am a member of a group called Freecycle and also one called Freesharing. In both, you take things you don't want anymore and you pass them on to others for free. I must say, until now I have greatly enjoyed my involvement with this group and am even volunteering to represent them at an environmental fair. They do good work. But yesterday I had a very upsetting Freecycling experience that makes me want to chuck the whole thing.

So in these groups, people often say when they "spot" things on the curbside that look pretty good. In one of the groups, these "spotted" announcements are no longer allowed and the moderator suggested that if you see something good you actually pick it up yourself and then freecycle it. So yesterday I was walking Buddy and I saw a double stroller on the curb. I checked it out, thought it looked in good shape and wheeled it home and posted it. I explained where I found it, what kind of shape it was in, etc. I got several requests for it but I also got a few emails from people who thought I had acted irresponsibly.

One person chastised me for picking up baby-related items, suggesting that there might be a reason it was on the curb and it might be dangerous. Well, duh. Of course there is a risk. I would assume that anyone who wanted it would carefully test it out and check online for recalls and safety standards before using it. I myself just picked up a crib and you can bet your ass I'm going to check it thoroughly before deciding if I want to use it. I had assumed that other people would do the same. You know, take responsibility for themselves. It's the same as buying things at a garage sale, or goodwill. Buyer beware. But this person got me paranoid that this was too much to expect. It makes me sad that something good like Freecycle turns litigious so quickly. It ruins it, makes you fearful to participate, makes others feel like they don't have to make the time and effort to be safe and responsible.

Another person emailed suggesting it was actually illegal to take things from the curbside and that once they had been set out, they belonged to the City of Toronto. That one just made me laugh. First of all, nothing in this city lasts more than a few days on the curb unless it's TRASH. I only picked up the stroller because it was garbage day and I didn't want it to be landfill. So even if it's illegal, it's so frickin common. Secondly, I would almost like the City to bust me. In a city that has to ship its trash to the States and where the cost of city work and maintenance is astronomical, I would like to see them get on my ass for curbside reusing. I'd take that to the media so damn fast. There would be so much backlash against the city. Anyway, that person made me even madder than the first one because seriously, WTF?? Talk about encouraging fear, paranoia, and going against what I understand the Freecycling movement to be about.

Anyway, I was really upset last night and cried for a while. You know when you think you've done something really good and then people tell you it was a mistake and you feel stupid for being excited and proud of yourself? I felt like that. My husband told me that I should leave Freecycle, that it wasn't worth it if it was going to make me feel so bad. But I'm going to stick it out. I still think it's a good movement. But I probably will avoid baby items (which is a shame because people need them desperately) and will be a little less enthusiastic about the process from now on. Stupid people. They ruin everything with their stupidity.

Vive la tour!

So my husband is a huge Tour de France fan and so for the last few summers I have been watching the tour for 2-3 hours a day for THREE WEEKS. One summer he even tried to watch it twice a day (they show it in the morning and then repeat it at night) but I had to put my foot down about that. Anyway, though I am not the hugest cycling fan in the world, the tour is pretty interesting. Three weeks is a bit much for me but I do enjoy it some days. There's lots of little things to know and appreciate about the tour. But the one thing that drives me crazy every day of every race is the stupid frickin' crowds.

I posted a pic that I think is of last year's tour to give you a sense of what the crowds are like in the mountain stages. They quite literally stand so that they fill the whole street and draw back just enough to let the riders through. And once they pass, the crowd flows back in to the whole street. There is usually a little motorbike in front of the riders that serves to partially break the crowd but at the thickest points, fans just flow back in after the motorbike has passed. At other parts where the streets are little more open, fans will jump in front of the riders, wave and scream and then jump back at the last possible second. Others will run beside the riders waving huge flags at them and shouting. It makes me cringe - I'm always just waiting for a breeze to send the flag right into the wheels of the bike. They also pat them on the backs (which is illegal and can actually result in the riding getting a penalty if it looks like the fan pushed them), pour water on them and offer them water bottles. So of the not so nice fans also spit on them (WTF with that????) and call them names.

Anyway, this is a big part of the tour and since it's 200 K long a day, they can't really enforce crowd control. But it drives me nuts. Every single day I'm shouting at the tv "Get out of the way!!" I often resort to profanity. I mean, these cyclists have been riding uphill for 5 hours. Do you really think they want to have to weave among drunken or idiotic fans who can't get off the road fast enough?? And several times over the history of the tour, people haven't gotten out of the way fast enough and have caused riders to crash. Piss off!

Well, today was a treat for people like me. It was the tour's hardest mountain stage and the biggest crowd ever turned out. It was twice as thick as that pictured above - people were literally inches away from the riders on all sides. Anyway, there were a couple riders up in the lead and this guy jumped out to shout at them. I think he was running with them and then fell off the pace and stopped. In the middle of the road. There were more riders coming up shortly behind him led by a motorcycle (they carry guys on cameras who get all the crowd shots). The guy wasn't moving and he was threatening the safety of the cyclists behind and the integrity of the race so the motorcycle ran him over!! In fairness, there was absolutely nowhere for the motorcycle to go - it was surrounded by people on all sides, it couldn't have even swerved. It was awesome! It just hit him straight on. Of course the riders fell of the motorbike and the fan went down. But the cyclists were able to get through. Oh, it was brilliant. You might think I'm heartless but, dude, fans stay on the SIDES OF THE ROAD. If they're going to stand in the middle of the road during the tour, they deserve what they get.

WTF Award - No male birth control pills

So my husband and I are thinking about having a baby in the next year and I am debating when to go off the birth control pill. Now I know they say you only have to be off it for a month but since I have been on the pill since I was 14, I'd like to go off it my 4 or 5 months ahead of time and actually get to see what my body does on its own. Which of course leaves us with the alternative contraception dilemma. It seems easy except that I am allergic to latex. So we've got no pill, no patches, no shots, no condoms (we tried the non-latex ones - let's just say they're not good), no diaphragms, no cervical caps. IUD's are not recommended until after childbirth. So that leaves us with spermicide. We're going to give it a go via the Today's Sponge (he is spongeworthy! lol) but I have a bad feeling about this. Given that I am allergic to soap and moisturizing cream, what are the chances I'm not allergic to Nonoxonyl-9?

Which brings me to my WTF rant. Why have the drug companies not developed a birth control pill for men????? I mean, if you want to be safe, what makes more sense, wearing a bullet proof vest or taking the bullets out of the gun? Apparently they've been working on them for a while and they have none of the cancer or blot clot risks that female pills carry AND the contraceptive effect goes away immedidately upon cessation - NO risk to fertility. And yet, where are they? I read a couple of years ago in a magazine that we could expect them in 5-10 years. 5-10 years???? WTF? I also saw a news story last year about it where they polled men on the street and they all said they wouldn't take it. Stupid machismo. Yes, let your woman take the dangerous drugs instead of you taking the safe ones. It's just like the whole stupid vasectomy issue. Why not let your wife have invasive, non-reversible surgery just so you can keep your "virility." Stupid. It's just all part of a culture where the burden of childbearing (or the prevention thereof) falls entirely on the woman and men can decide whether or not they "feel ready" to take part.

And just in case you're wondering, I've already got my guy talked into the old snip when we're done having kids. I figure I've been on birth control pills for 15 years. And then, after going through painful, disfiguring, never-ending, pregnancy and labour 2 or 3 times, I'm signing out. Dude, after that I'll hold the ice pack on his groin and that's about all! :)