I was in ye olde Value Village today, looking to spend money I didn't really have.

I know I shouldn't do that. I'd been wanting to get down to the far south Value Village for a while now, so I went down with the pretense of updating some of my wardrobe.

In the end I only bought a multi-coloured hippy skirt, and a bike.

Yes, a bike.

I've always looked at the bikes that go through the Value Villages, because they don't charge very much for them and I'd been looking to replace the one that got stolen in College.

There was only one bike there this time. Mountain bike. Blue.

I wouldn't have given it a second glance, except it was actually tall enough for me with the seat all the way down (which NEVER happens).

So I looked it over.

I tried the brakes.

They were perfect.

I eyed the tires.

They were firm with good tread left.

I looked at the gears. 21 speed.

So I lifted the bike off the ground and kicked the pedals through all the gears.

It took two spins to click into first gear, but that's the only one it had problems with.

The seat was in good repair. It looked brand new, in fact. The frame had a touch of rust here and there, but nothing I was worried about. It looked like someone had left it in a damp room for a while.

And it was only $30.

So I bought it, even though it ate into my savings.

And this is on top of the black leather mary-janes I bought yesterday out of my savings, to replace the crappy 'man-made' mary-janes from Payless.

I was iffy buying those shoes, because as I mentioned, it would eat into my savings. But they were good quality shoes at a steep discount (they were only $30), and exactly the style of shoe I like (I'm incredibly picky about shoes, especially ones I'm going to wear for a long time).

So that's that.

I promised myself, though, that I wouldn't buy a helmet or lock until at least Thursday, when I get my fun paycheque.

And I'm not gonna ride it until I have a helmet.

...though I might have ridden it home from the train station. Slowly, though, and on the sidewalk. (It was icy. I didn't want to tempt Fate before I had a helmet and a shorter jacket.)

Anyway.

Enough from me.

Tonight I will wear my yellow vintage coat with the white tassels, red tights and black shoes, and I shall be simply darling.

And I will go for drinks with my friends, and one not-so-friend-but-still-tolerable.

Peace out.

.

Rosie.

Before&After