What I Am

My favorite mug

When I make coffee or tea in the morning and go to grab one of my mugs, I often pause to see if the one I'm grabbing applies to me in the moment. They say different things through pictures and words (see photo for example), like Happy Camper, Queen Bee, Social Butterfly, Biker Chick.

This morning I didn't ride my bike as I normally do, and when I selected my mug I paused when Biker Chick was the one in front. And then I decided that being a biker chick isn't a moniker that one can either acquire or lose in a day, it goes deeper than that. So I made my tea in it.

When I got to work, I was walking up toward the Capitol when a man I don't know on the Capitol grounds said to me: "No bike today?" And I explained no, I didn't ride today, because I had to bring in this 12 pack of Diet Coke for a meeting and didn't trust my bike rack to hold it in place without disrupting my ride.

As I walked away from him I thought to myself, "See? Even this man I don't know knows that I'm a biker chick even without my bike!"

And then Edie Brickell started to play in my head:

I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know, if you know what I mean
Philosophy is the talk on a cereal box
Religion is the smile on a dog
I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know, if you know what I mean, d-doo yeah

Choke me in the shallow waters
Before I get too deep

What I am is what I am
Are you what you are or what?
What I am is what I am
Are you what you are, or?

Oh, I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know, if you know what I mean
Philosophy is a walk on the slippery rocks
Religion is a light in the fog
I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know, if you know what I mean, d-doo yeah

Choke me in the shallow water
Before I get too deep

What I am is what I am
Are you what you are or what?
What I am is what I am
Are you what you are or what?

Yes I am, Edie. Yes I am...