last day in dc

today was my last day working as a dc messenger. i've got mixed feelings about leaving the streets. messenger work is good work. as my friend kevin keefe-a 20 year vetern of the dc streets-told me, "it's good work. it's easy, it's fun, and you're on your bike all day. you'll be back." while it's not always easy work, he was right about the rest. it's a job that keeps you on your bike all day. i can't think of many things that could be more fun than that. you also become intimate with the city; you are part of the cityscape. if you pay attention in the city you will notice couriers everywhere but if you blink you'll miss them. i'm going to miss that. my dispactcher threw me a good final job-hunton williams (1900 k, nw) to the ferc (888 1st, ne) double deadline roundtrip. $42 job. good way to finish.
i'm looking forward to going back to charlotte and working with habitat.
i saw something great on my ride home from work. i was going downhill on the custis bike when a very young girl on a mountian bike jumped the curb and did a weak track stand in the middle of the trail. i almost hit her and had to yell to get her to move (she didn't see me and we both would have been hurt if we'd crashed) but i was very, very impressed with her skills. about 100 meters further down the trail was the one s-turn climb on custis. there was her friend/brother on a mountian bike, making it up the hill. what cool kids!